Bitcoin splits into two chains as anti-Ordinals fork struggles to gain miners

Bitcoin's ↘ 0.05% blockchain divided into two competing chains on Saturday after nodes running BIP-110 entered a mandatory-signaling phase at block 961,632, creating a minority fork that has struggled to produce blocks as the main network pulls ahead.

A Contested Fork Takes Shape

The split occurred when AntPool, one of Bitcoin's largest mining pools, produced the first block at height 961,632 without the BIP-110 approval signal. Most of the network accepted that block, but nodes enforcing BIP-110 rejected it and instead followed an alternative block mined by Roughnecks, a miner associated with Ocean, according to The Block.theblock

BIP-110 is a proposed one-year soft fork that would restrict non-financial data on the Bitcoin blockchain, targeting inscription techniques used by Ordinals and Runes. The proposal requires blocks to signal support during a roughly two-week mandatory period, with a 55% miner threshold needed for lock-in.coindesk+1

That threshold appears far out of reach. During the final signaling period before the split, just 51 of 2,016 blocks — roughly 2.5% — signaled support for BIP-110. The minority chain's limited hashpower has produced stark results: average block times on the BIP-110 chain have reached 6.9 hours, compared with Bitcoin's standard 10-minute target.x+2

Main Chain Extends Its Lead

By Saturday evening, the main Bitcoin chain had reached block 961,640 while the BIP-110 chain stood at block 961,633, seven blocks behind. None of the first nine blocks on the main chain following the split signaled for BIP-110.cointrust+1

The fork emerged from a long-running dispute over whether Bitcoin should accommodate non-financial data. Ocean CTO Luke Dashjr, a BIP-110 supporter, has argued that permanent data storage burdens node operators. Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor joined the opposition in July, writing a 110-point essay contending that "Bitcoin does not need guardians of purity. It needs guardians of neutrality".theblock

Uncertain Path Forward

BIP-110's restrictions will only lock in if its chain reaches block 963,648 — a goal that appears increasingly distant given current mining participation. CoinDesk described the proposal's position before the split as a near-total defeat, noting that if BIP-110 "was a referendum, 'landslide' wouldn't begin to describe the scale of its defeat".coindesk

Bitcoin traded around $65,000 at the time of the split with no obvious price disruption, according to The Block. Whether the minority chain survives will depend on whether it can attract additional miners and gain adoption from exchanges and wallets — a prospect that grows more remote with each slow block.theblock