Michael Saylor’s Stance on Bitcoin Code Alterations
Michael Saylor has shifted his focus from opposing BIP-110 specifically to a broader objection against any alterations to Bitcoin’s code. In a recent series of posts on X, he framed the issue as a critical threat to Bitcoin’s integrity, likening it to a constitutional crisis.
“Bitcoin has triumphed, but now it must protect that victory,”
Saylor stated, expressing concern about the dangers posed by internal factions that might seek to alter the rules of the protocol under various pretexts.
Criticism of BIP-110
Saylor’s recent criticisms center around BIP-110, a proposal which seeks to impose a year-long soft fork to limit the inclusion of non-financial data on the Bitcoin blockchain. Just last week, in a comprehensive 110-point argument titled “110 Reasons BIP 110 Is a Bad Idea,” he laid out his objections in detail. As the debate has progressed, it appears his stance has gained traction among Bitcoin supporters, with many aligning against the proposal.
He has grouped BIP-110 with other contentious proposals, including those advocating for smart contracts that dictate future spending of Bitcoin and initiatives calling for increased block sizes to accommodate more data transactions. Saylor’s stance is pronounced: all these proposals, despite their differences, share a common issue of undermining Bitcoin’s foundational rules. He criticized these changes as attempts by specific factions to manipulate the consensus rules, which he likened to rewriting a nation’s constitution to serve particular interests.
Constitutional Metaphors and Economic Rights
Using these constitutional metaphors, Saylor emphasizes that Bitcoin’s consensus rules function as a foundational legal framework, akin to a country’s constitution. Altering these rules, according to him, threatens the economic rights of current and future participants in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
“To modify them for any group’s convenience is to assault the economic rights of every existing and future user,”
he articulated. Saylor believes protocol modifications should be rare and approached conservatively, driven by necessity rather than ambition, echoing a call to defend Bitcoin’s original principles and ensure a stable future for the cryptocurrency.
BIP-110’s Proponents and Current Status
BIP-110’s principal proponent is the pseudonymous developer Dathon Ohm, with noted Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr also contributing significantly to its development. The proposal garners support primarily from a smaller faction associated with Bitcoin Knots and node operators who advocate for maintaining Bitcoin’s primary role as a peer-to-peer currency, eschewing the idea of the blockchain as a repository for non-monetary data. They argue their position isn’t censorship but a method of preserving Bitcoin’s limited resources and ensuring efficient use of the blockchain’s capacity.
Currently, the mandatory signaling phase for BIP-110 is set to commence on August 9, during which nodes operating under this proposal will start rejecting blocks that do not comply. However, as it stands, miner support lingers at 2.64%, far below the 55%% threshold necessary for activation.
