Bitcoin’s BIP-110-enforcing branch has stalled after mining just two blocks, widening the separation from the non-enforcing chain to 88 blocks. The latest update from a BIP-110 monitoring dashboard shows the mandatory-signaling version of the network making extremely slow progress as it awaits further blocks to complete the current difficulty-adjustment window.
According to the BIP-110 monitor (updated at 10:19 am UTC), the enforcing branch was last seen at block 961,633 after a long gap since its previous block. In the meantime, the non-enforcing chain advanced to block 961,721, underscoring how thin the enforcement-side hashpower currently is.
Key takeaways
- The enforcing branch produced only two blocks before stalling, while the non-enforcing chain continued forward, increasing the block-gap to 88.
- The divergence began after BIP-110 entered mandatory signaling at block 961,632, during which only 2.53% of blocks in the preceding window signaled support.
- Mandatory signaling is scheduled to continue through block 963,647, but difficulty adjustment won’t fully help until the enforcing side mines through the remainder of the 2,016-block adjustment period.
- Mining activity on the enforcing branch’s early blocks was attributed, via Ocean records, to a pseudonymous group using Ocean’s DATUM mining protocol.
Where the chains split
The split traces back to the moment BIP-110 moved into mandatory signaling mode. Earlier on Saturday, BIP-110 entered mandatory signaling at block 961,632. During the preceding 2,016-block adjustment window, only 51 blocks—about 2.53%—signaled support.
This matters because, under the BIP-110 rules, enforcing nodes reject blocks that do not signal via version bit 4, while standard Bitcoin nodes continue to accept both signaling and non-signaling blocks. The result is that the enforcing branch can lag if insufficient miners actively produce signaling blocks during the mandatory phase.
Under the proposal documented in the BIPs repository for BIP-110, mandatory signaling continues through block 963,647. Enforcing nodes must mine through the rest of the 2,016-block adjustment period before difficulty can adjust on their branch—an environment where even a temporary shortage of supporting hashpower can create long delays.
Stalled progress and the role of adjustment windows
Even when enforcement rules are live, the network’s practical pace can remain constrained by the mechanics of Bitcoin’s difficulty targeting. The BIP-110-enforcing side can’t benefit from a difficulty change until it has advanced far enough within the current adjustment period.
Ocean’s records cited in the BIP-110 monitor coverage indicate that a pseudonymous mining group—Roughnecks—produced the first two enforcing-branch blocks using Ocean’s Decentralized Alternative Templates for Universal Mining (DATUM) mining protocol. Those two blocks appear to be the basis for the enforcing-side head seen at block 961,633, after which progress slowed materially.
