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BIP-110 replay warning
Bitcoin developer Kevin Loaec warned that bitcoin holders could lose real BTC if they try to sell coins from a possible BIP-110 fork during a chain-split window.
“Bitcoin holders risk losing real BTC if they sell coins from possible BIP-110 fork.”
In the scenario described by CoinDesk, a minority chain could appear this weekend and buyers could replay signed fork-coin sales on bitcoin itself, because both chains would initially accept identical transactions.
CoinDesk said the safest course for non-experts is to avoid moving coins during the potential split until built-in replay protection is available at least early September.
CoinDesk tied the risk to BIP-110’s activation mechanics, saying that from block 961,632 expected this weekend, computers running BIP-110 software will reject any block that does not carry the mark.
CoinDesk also said BIP-110’s actual restrictions on transaction data do not switch on until block 965,664, expected around the start of September.
How the split could work
Bitcoin World said that immediately after a fork, both the original Bitcoin chain and the forked chain would accept the same transaction signatures, enabling a replay attack.
Bitcoin World described the mechanism as follows: a transaction signed on the forked chain could be replayed on the main Bitcoin network by a third party, transferring the equivalent amount of BTC there as well.
Bitcoin World said Loaec emphasized that ordinary investors who do not know how to safely split assets across the two chains should avoid any on-chain transactions during a fork period.
The same article said BIP-110 is a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal aimed at restricting non-payment data such as images and text in Bitcoin transactions, and that it requires support from more than 55% of the most recent 2,016 blocks (1,109 blocks) to activate.
Bitcoin World added that from block height 961,632, BIP-110 nodes are designed to automatically reject blocks that do not include a specific signal, which could lead to a chain split if some nodes continue operating on a separate chain.
Deadline, signaling, and risk
KuCoin reported that a third-party monitor showed only 48 of 1,831 blocks signaling as of 14:41:49 UTC on Aug. 7, leaving 185 blocks before the signaling period closes.
“only 48 of 1,831 blocks signaling as of 14:41:49 UTC on Aug. 7”
KuCoin said BIP-110 requires 1,109 signaling blocks in a 2,016-block period to meet its 55% threshold, and that even if every one of the 185 remaining blocks signaled, the period would finish at 233 of 2,016, or about 11.56%.
KuCoin described a schedule in which mandatory signaling runs through block 963,647, lock-in will not happen once the height reaches 963,648, and the reduced-data rules activate at 965,664.
KuCoin also said a BIP-110 implementation pull request in the Bitcoin Core repository closed unmerged on March 26, and that Core contributor Antoine Poinsot wrote on June 4 that Core does not enforce the proposal.
In parallel, CoinDesk warned that without built-in replay protection until at least early September, the safest course for non-experts is to avoid moving coins during the potential split.
