The new BIP-110 fork chain has only produced two blocks since splitting last Saturday, lagging 326 blocks behind the main Bitcoin network, which is now running at block 961,959 compared to 961,633. The new network initially required 55% support from miners for two weeks, but at its peak, it only gathered 2.6% of the computational power.
However, this technical deadlock is not the only issue, as its impact is now spreading into the core governance arena.
Stranded Waiting for Six Years
The auto-correction mechanism for mining difficulty on this network requires the completion of 2,016 blocks first. At the current production rate, this process is estimated to take up to 6.3 years - jumping from an estimated 350 days on Sunday, and the figure keeps growing longer with every hour the network is left inactive.
Both chains inherited the same difficulty level at the time of the split. The difference is that this fork chain has no market, exchange listings, or buyers for its coin. By comparison, the next difficulty adjustment for the main Bitcoin network will run normally in the next 12 days. Even so, Arch co-founder Himanshu Sahay warned that it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions based solely on this early block production data.
How the Lead Architect Was Ousted
Amidst a network that has nearly ground to a halt, BIP-110 fork architect Luke Dashjr has been officially removed from his position as a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal editor. This move was driven by Bitcoin developer Mark Erhardt, who opened a pull request to revoke Dashjr’s access. The reason stems from the fact that Dashjr was too deeply involved in the BIP-110 project and allegedly showed bias while performing his administrative duties, including attempting to assign a BIP number before discussions on the mailing list had begun.
Developer Jon Atack confirmed that Dashjr has now lost editor and administrator rights in the BIP repository. In response to his removal, Dashjr protested. “This is an abuse of power by Core. They have no authority for that,” he said in response to the developers’ move.
This removal highlights the firm boundary drawn by the Bitcoin community against unilateral maneuvers on their development infrastructure. For Dashjr, his decision to split the network resulted in a double consequence: a fork chain abandoned by miners, and the loss of a key position at the center of the document repository. Reported by CoinDesk.
Also read: What Is Bitcoin Halving?
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
