Bitcoin Advocates Push Back Against BIP-110 Proposal to Restrict Inscriptions

Bitcoin’s investment case rests on a fixed supply of 21 million coins, permissionless transactions and consensus rules designed to resist unilateral change. Michael Saylor, co-founder and executive chairman of Strategy, likened the base-layer code to a constitution protecting holders’ economic rights. He argued that internal efforts to introduce covenants, larger blocks or protocol-level censorship pose a greater threat than external attacks, while innovation should remain on Layer 2 networks and at the application edge.

On July 18, Saylor published an approximately 3,700-word essay on X outlining 110 objections to BIP-110, formally called the Reduced Data Temporary Softfork. Version 1.0.0 was completed on June 25 and would restrict techniques used to place Ordinals and other non-payment data on Bitcoin for about one year. Ahead of an August signaling period, miner support stood at just 0.86%, far below the proposal’s 55% activation threshold.

BIP-110 is a contested temporary soft fork designed to reduce the amount of non-monetary data that Bitcoin transactions can carry, targeting inscription-based uses such as Ordinals. Supporters say the measure would protect scarce block space and reinforce Bitcoin’s monetary role. Critics argue it could set a censorship precedent, invalidate otherwise standard transactions and reduce fee income that miners increasingly rely on as block subsidies decline. The proposal has drawn opposition from Blockstream CEO Adam Back and Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor.

Foundry USA, the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool with about 23.8% of network hashrate, opened a vote among mining customers in July 2026. Ballots are weighted by each miner’s average hashrate from July 6 through July 15, while Foundry released educational materials on July 21. Voting will close at Bitcoin block 961,632, expected in early August, and clients vote through emailed links. The outcome is closely watched because Foundry’s scale could materially shift signaling for BIP-110, which remained below 1% in mid-July.

BIP-110 proposes a roughly one-year temporary soft fork that would restrict arbitrary and non-financial data on the Bitcoin blockchain, with supporters arguing the limits would ease node costs and preserve the network’s monetary focus. The dispute has become a test of Bitcoin governance: opponents say invalidating transactions that are currently permitted and pay market fees would weaken neutrality, permissionless access and confidence in stable consensus rules.

Strategy co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor published an approximately 3,700-word post on X on July 18, listing 110 reasons to reject BIP-110 and arguing that fee markets, not consensus changes, should address spam. The proposal’s mandatory signaling phase is expected around Aug. 7, 2026, at block 961,632. Miner support stood at about 0.86% on a public monitor, far below the 55% threshold required for activation.

BIP-110, or the Reduced Data Temporary Soft Fork, proposes a soft fork lasting about one year to restrict non-monetary data written to the Bitcoin blockchain through OP_RETURN, inscriptions and other methods. Supporters say it would curb blockchain bloat and preserve Bitcoin’s use for payments. Opponents argue that fee-paying transactions should not be censored, turning the dispute into a broader battle over block space and governance rights.

The first supporting block was mined on March 2, 2026. As of July 18, only eight of 940 blocks in the current signaling period had signaled support, or 0.85%, far below the 55% threshold, which requires 1,109 of 2,016 blocks. Strategy founder Michael Saylor and Blockstream co-founder Adam Back oppose the proposal. A mandatory signaling period is expected to begin in August, with activation possible as early as September, though the risk of a minority chain split remains.