Blockstream chief executive Adam Back has opposed Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110, arguing that efforts to curb Ordinals-style transaction spam could undermine the network’s credibility and risk freezing user funds.
BIP-110, introduced in December by pseudonymous developer Dathon Ohm, would temporarily restrict the amount of arbitrary data stored in Bitcoin transactions, with about 7.5% of nodes, all running Bitcoin Knots, signalling readiness for activation.
“It’s a lynch mob attempt to push changes there is not consensus for,”
Said Back, adding that spam is “just an annoyance” and that the proposal would amount to “an attack” on Bitcoin’s credibility as a secure monetary network.
Back warned that altering consensus rules could render certain unspent transaction outputs unspendable, effectively freezing funds, even as he reiterated his view that Bitcoin should prioritise its role as sound money.
Ohm acknowledged the theoretical risk but said, “This proposal goes to great pains to avoid affecting any known use cases,” while supporters argue the 12-month measure would give developers time to assess longer-term solutions.
The debate follows a shift in node market share after Bitcoin Core developers removed the 80-byte limit on the OP_RETURN function in late 2025, enabling more non-financial transactions and reducing Bitcoin Core’s share to 77.2% as Bitcoin Knots rose to 22.7%.
While proponents such as Ordinals advocate Leonidas say non-financial transactions have generated over $500 million in fees, data from Dune Analytics shows Ordinals inscription fees had fallen below $10,000 per day by late 2025, down sharply from a near $10 million peak in December 2023.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $68,420.82.