Foundry USA Pool launches voting on BIP-110: what will change in the Bitcoin blockchain
The largest mining pool, Foundry USA Pool, has officially launched the voting process for proposal BIP-110. This initiative, presented as a soft fork, aims to limit arbitrary non-monetary data in Bitcoin network transactions. Specifically, BIP-110 introduces strict limits on the OP_RETURN field and other channels used for embedding information into the blockchain.
Currently, Foundry has provided its clients with access to a specialized page detailing BIP-110. Voting is conducted via an email form, and its results will carry significant weight, given that the pool's share of Bitcoin's global hash rate exceeds 22%, according to Hashrate Index. The voting window will close at block #961,632, which is tentatively expected in early August.
My analysis: This move by Foundry could set a precedent for the entire mining community. Limiting non-monetary data is a long-standing contentious issue, and if BIP-110 gains support, it will significantly impact the ecosystem by reducing opportunities for spam and misuse of the blockchain. However, opposition is expected from projects that actively use OP_RETURN for tokenization and second-layer protocols.