Adam Back warns of ‘lynch mob’ tactics – Is Bitcoin facing fork fight?

The combat over Bitcoin’s future is heating up, and this time the opposition is coming from an surprising place.

Blockstream CEO Adam Again, who’s normally identified for supporting Bitcoin’s conventional sound cash values, has strongly criticized a brand new proposal known as BIP-110.

This proposal goals to restrict spam on the community, together with JPEG pictures and audio recordsdata saved as Ordinals.

A developer named Dathon Ohm supports BIP-110 and says it’s urgently wanted to stop folks from misusing the blockchain to retailer giant quantities of information.

Adam Backs opposes BIP-110

Nonetheless, Adam Again disagrees. On sixteenth February, he known as the proposal a “lynch mob try,” saying it tries to pressure main modifications with out correct settlement from the group. He warned,  

“It’s worse as it’s an assault on bitcoin’s credibility as a retailer of worth, it’s safety credibility, and a lynch mob try to push modifications there’s not consensus for.”

Even together with his criticism, the proposal is gaining help. Round 7.5% of Bitcoin [BTC] nodes, principally utilizing the Bitcoin [BTC] Knots software program, have already agreed to observe these stricter guidelines.

The controversy intensified after Again was questioned whether or not he really believes the proposal, meant to cut back spam, is extra dangerous than Ordinals, which use SegWit and Taproot so as to add additional knowledge to the community.

To which Again replied,

“spam is simply an annoyance, all of it definitionally matches inside the block-size. the op returns are 4x smaller.”

He added,

“pushing for a fork, when you recognize there’s not consensus, is contentious. and other people have defined repeatedly what is flawed and dangerous concerning the BIP, freezing UTXOs, disabling options, 55% activation, flag day and filter proponents appear unable to grasp or pay attention or care.”

Why was BIP-110 proposed within the first place?

That mentioned, BIP-110 is not only about expertise. It additionally exhibits that energy contained in the Bitcoin community is shifting. For a few years, Bitcoin Core managed virtually 98% of all nodes.

Now, its share has dropped to about 77.2%. On the identical time, Bitcoin Knots has grown to round 22.7%, as extra customers swap software program.

Supply: Coin Dance

This shift began in late 2025, when Bitcoin Core eliminated the 80-byte restrict on the OP_RETURN perform. This variation made it simpler so as to add pictures and different giant knowledge to Bitcoin.

As extra spam entered the community, many customers turned sad. This is the reason BIP-110 was proposed, to chop down on this additional knowledge.

The danger of a Arduous Fork

Whereas BIP-110 is below debate, one other controversy emerged final 12 months.

Leaked messages prompt that Luke Dashjr was contemplating a tough fork that may permit a small “trusted committee” to take away unlawful knowledge from the blockchain.

Supporters say this might cut back authorized dangers, however critics warn it could allow censorship and weaken Bitcoin’s core values.

Collectively, these debates present that Bitcoin is now questioning who controls the community, and whether or not it could stay really impartial and decentralized.

Ultimate Abstract

• Issues about frozen UTXOs elevate severe dangers, as even small technical modifications may have an effect on actual person funds.
• Builders now face strain from customers, miners, and regulators on the identical time, making compromise tougher than ever.