BIP-110, formally titled the "Reduced Data Temporary Softfork," was authored under the pseudonym Dathon Ohm (based on an original draft by Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr; the proposal was previously circulated as BIP-444) and reached official "Complete" BIP status on June 25, 2026. The proposal would impose seven temporary consensus rule changes for approximately one year. Among the most consequential: new transaction outputs would be capped at 34 bytes, OP_RETURN payloads limited to 83 bytes, and data pushes restricted to 256 bytes. The primary targets of these restrictions, according to technical analysis, are Ordinals (Bitcoin's NFT-like inscription protocol), BRC-20 tokens, Runes, and oversized OP_RETURN payloads. Critics say the rule changes would effectively block new activity across all four categories. Existing unspent transaction outputs created before activation would be permanently exempt.

The proposal uses a User-Activated Soft Fork model, which means upgraded nodes can begin enforcing its rules regardless of miner preference. Its authors set a 55% miner-signaling threshold for activation, a sharp departure from the roughly 95% required under Bitcoin's traditional BIP-9 process. Because UASF enforcement allows upgraded nodes to reject blocks from non-compliant miners, the lower threshold combined with UASF mechanics could force a chain split even against the wishes of a majority of miners, a risk that sharpens considerably if signaling falls short of broad consensus. Mandatory signaling is set to begin near block 961,632 in early August, with activation projected at block 965,664 around September 1 if the threshold is reached. Rules would expire automatically after about one year.

As of July 19, miner support stands at effectively zero. The proposal peaked at approximately 0.7% signaling and has seen no backing from major mining pools. Node adoption remains in the low single digits, almost entirely confined to Bitcoin Knots 29.2, a minority implementation. Bitcoin Core, which powers the vast majority of nodes on the network, has not endorsed the proposal.

Saylor's essay frames the issue as one of fundamental protocol philosophy rather than a technical dispute over spam. "There are 110 things more dangerous to Bitcoin than spam," he wrote, adding that "the proposed cure is more dangerous than the condition." He argued that Bitcoin cannot distinguish legitimate from illegitimate data use at the protocol level, and that encoding that judgment into consensus rules sets a precedent for future censorship. He had earlier labeled BIP-110 an "iatrogenic proposal," a medical term for harm caused by the treatment itself. Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, has separately warned that the proposed restrictions could prove bypassable in practice and might damage Bitcoin's credibility as a reliable store of value. On the other side, Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr, credited as an advisor on the original draft, has argued that Ordinals and similar protocols exploit technical loopholes rather than use Bitcoin's functionality as designed.

Critics of Saylor's position pushed back sharply online. An estimated 60 to 70 percent of respondents on social media dismissed his essay or argued against it, according to reporting by The Crypto Times. Several questioned whether he operates a Bitcoin node himself, and others objected to the length of the argument.

The governance dispute carries real consequences for users well outside North America and Europe. India ranks first and Nigeria second in the 2026 Global Crypto Adoption Index. Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 205 billion dollars in on-chain transaction volume over the past year, a 52 percent increase year over year, with Ethiopia, Kenya, and Ghana all entering the global top 20. Bitcoin is used heavily across these regions for remittances, inflation hedging, and peer-to-peer commerce. Nigeria alone processed roughly 59 billion dollars in crypto transactions in the prior year, according to the Chainalysis 2025 Global Adoption Index. Ethiopia has also emerged as a significant Bitcoin mining hub, and analysts have noted that fee revenue from Ordinals and related protocols has helped supplement the shrinking block subsidy there, though a direct primary source confirming this link is pending editorial verification. A chain split, even a temporary or minority one, would create exchange listing confusion, complicate access to funds, and could undermine trust in Bitcoin as a stable settlement layer precisely where that trust matters most. Saylor's argument that consensus-level restrictions on valid transactions set a censorship precedent resonates particularly in regions with a recent history of government-directed financial exclusion. Nigeria offers a concrete example: the Central Bank of Nigeria historically barred commercial banks from servicing crypto exchanges, a policy that cut millions of Nigerians off from accessing digital assets through formal financial channels before it was partially reversed.

With the signaling window opening in weeks and miner support at near-zero, BIP-110 is unlikely to achieve network-wide activation. The more durable question is whether the attempt itself, and the lower activation threshold its authors proposed, will harden or erode the norms that govern how Bitcoin changes over time. Saylor, whose company holds 843,775 BTC valued at roughly 54.31 billion dollars, followed his essay with a "What's next?" chart post on X, a recurring signal ahead of Strategy's weekly Bitcoin disclosure. The upcoming disclosure arrives against a notable backdrop: Strategy recently sold Bitcoin for the first time since its 2020 buying campaign, offloading more than 3,500 BTC for approximately 216 million dollars to fund dividends on its Digital Credit preferred securities. Whatever that disclosure reveals about the company's current posture, its position on BIP-110 is now unmistakable.