Bitcoin developers prepare BLAKE2b fork following BIP-110 dispute

Bitcoin developers supporting the BIP-110 proposal are preparing to launch a separate proof-of-work chain using the BLAKE2b mining algorithm. The move follows a failed attempt to gain support for a minority branch on the main Bitcoin chain, which initially produced only two blocks due to a lack of miner participation.

The new chain, scheduled for a potential launch around September 1, replaces the standard SHA256d algorithm with BLAKE2b and introduces a new 164-byte block header. The original BIP-110 specification aimed to implement temporary soft-fork restrictions on non-financial data to reduce storage demands on node operators.

The development has sparked a debate regarding blockchain governance. David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO emeritus, argued that the decision to create a separate chain after losing a consensus vote constitutes an attack on the network rather than a good-faith disagreement. Conversely, supporters of the fork, including developer Loogart, maintain that they have simply accepted the outcome of the governance process and are voluntarily continuing their version of the protocol elsewhere.