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Happy Friday!
Another transaction filter BIP has been forced into the Overton Window of Bitcoin technical discourse. And this BIP has coupled with a decentralization-focused mining pool to give birth to the first-ever solo-miner signaled soft fork.
The petition zilch chance of actually activating the BIP, but it’s nonetheless a notable development in the conjoined saga of Bitcoin’s technical evolution and its ever-fluid mining network.
More on this in today’s letter. Plus, the biggest news item for Bitcoin’s institutional adoption since the ETFs, year-end earnings from public miners, new podcasts, and more!
(P.S. we are only 5 weeks away from OPNEXT at the NY Times Center in New York, New York! Use code PODCAST for 20% off a ticket to OPNEXT NYC).
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A solo miner signaled for a Bitcoin soft fork. Here’s what that means
A very interesting block was mined on Bitcoin this past week and if you aren’t on twitter or don’t like drama you may have missed its significance.
It was the first block signaling support for BIP 110. More specifically, a bitcoin miner just signaled for a change to Bitcoin in the block, and that might be more interesting than the change itself.
BIP 110 is a proposal that wants to limit arbitrary data on Bitcoin (i.e., ordinals, inscriptions, and other non-monetary transactions). This is the controversial “filter” fork that is being pushed by Ocean Pool employees and pseudonymous laser-eyed Bitcoin profiles on X.
The specific proposal isn’t particularly noteworthy, but the block is very interesting – and how it was created could have some big implications for Bitcoin’s consensus.
The block at height 938903 from Barefoot Mining that signals for BIP 110
How bitcoin miners signal for upgrades
When a bitcoin block is produced, whoever mines it has the option to include arbitrary information in the block header. Satoshi, for example, included the famous “Chancellor on the brink" message in the Genesis Block.
But block headers also have a section called “nVersion” where miners can use a block to say that they will support a soft fork proposal or not. Every time we’ve had a fork in Bitcoin, there has been some period of signalling where miners all use that nVersion field to confirm that they are ready to enforce the new network rules.
In Bitcoin's history, soft fork signaling has always been treated as a pool-level decision; in other words, pools would broadcast signals, not the individual miners themselves. During SegWit activation in 2017, everyone was watching the pools. Which pool was signaling? Which wasn't?
That's because pools control the block templates (i.e., the transactions and other data that are mined and published in a block). The pool operator decides what software to run, what signal it makes with nVersion, and what rules the blocks follow. Individual miners just point their hashrate at the pool and collect their sats.
When it’s successful, this signaling process gives way to what some call a miner-activated softfork, since the miners ultimately convey their willingness or not to adopt a certain upgrade.
But this time it wasn’t the pool that signalled – it was one of the miners themselves
In the News
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Blockspace Podcasts
Chris Seedor of Seedor and Bitsurance joins the latest Blockspace Podcast to talk about the rising threat of physical "wrench attacks" and advanced Bitcoin self-custody. We discuss the 70% spike in violence against BTC owners, using Miniscript for time-locked security, and how AI-driven phishing is bypassing video IDs. Chris explains why simple seed phrases are high-risk and how protocol changes like covenants could revolutionize reactive security for all holders.
Dr. Hashem Hashemian, President of the American Nuclear Society and CEO of AMS, joins the Blockspace Podcast to talk about the massive resurgence of nuclear energy in the United States. We dive into the shift from decommissioning plants to life-extensions of up to 100 years, the economic impact of AI and data centers on power demand, and the $12 billion investment flowing into Tennessee's nuclear hub. Dr. Hashemian explains why nuclear fell out of favor and the challenges the industry faces as it gets back on its feet.
On this day in 1646, the General Court of Massachusetts issues America’s first patent to Joseph Jenkes for his water-powered manufacturing process for scythes, saw blades, and other sharp-edge tools.
-CBS, CMH