Daily Crypto Briefs 
NEW YORK, July 19, 2026
Foundry Digital has told clients in its Bitcoin mining pool they can use hashrate-weighted votes to decide how the pool signals for BIP-110, putting a contested temporary soft fork on a near-term path toward a mandatory August signaling window.
The process is not a referendum that changes Bitcoin by itself. Foundry said it will begin by signaling No and switch its pool to Yes only if Yes votes exceed 51% of the voting hashrate, according to Bitcoin Magazine’s report on the client communication.
Bitcoin’s market backdrop was steadier than the governance debate. CoinGecko listed BTC near $64,474 on July 19, with a market capitalization of about $1.30 trillion. Its historical data put Bitcoin near $63,514 on June 19 and $59,968 on July 1, showing how the month included both a sharp low and a recovery without establishing a link to BIP-110.
Bitcoin
BTCFoundry framed the choice as a client decision. “As miners, it’s important for you to have a voice and participate in the governance of the network,” the company said in the message quoted by Bitcoin Magazine. The publication said voting weight is based on each account’s average 10-day hashrate from July 6 through July 15.
The official BIP-110 specification is marked Complete, but that describes the document rather than a network-wide activation. It sets a 55% signaling threshold and a maximum activation height of 965,664, roughly September 1, while its mandatory signaling period starts at block 961,632. That block is expected in early August, though block times can move the calendar estimate.
The difference matters because the proposal would temporarily change consensus validation rules, not merely a mining pool’s transaction-selection policy. A pool-level vote offers Foundry clients a way to set the pool’s signal, while full activation still depends on the BIP’s specified chain conditions.
Foundry Opens a Hashrate Vote on BIP-110
The reported voting design makes hashrate, rather than account count, the measure that determines Foundry’s signal. Clients who do not respond count as No, Bitcoin Magazine reported, and clients can change their choice while the voting period remains open.
Foundry’s initial No signal prevents the pool from treating silence as support. If the 51% line is crossed, the company says it will signal Yes with all of the pool’s blocks during the relevant period. It did not publish individual client votes, although the report said aggregate results may be shared.
This is a concentrated operational decision, but it is not a shortcut around the rules written into BIP-110. The specification states that the mandatory signaling window runs from blocks 961,632 through 963,647, followed by lock-in no later than block 963,648. If the proposal becomes active, its restrictions would last 52,416 blocks, about one year.
The practical question for miners is whether a disputed data policy should be expressed through consensus signaling. Bitcoin’s mining industry has faced a separate economic pressure from the funding gap in the shift toward AI data centers, but that capital-allocation story does not decide the BIP-110 outcome.
Bitcoin BIP-110 Would Restrict Data Fields for One Year
BIP-110 is titled “Reduced Data Temporary Softfork.” Its stated purpose is to limit certain data fields at the consensus layer and refocus the network on payments, a position that supporters say would reduce the burden of arbitrary data on node operators.
The document would make new output scripts above 34 bytes invalid, except for OP_RETURN outputs up to 83 bytes. It would also limit specified data pushes and witness items to 256 bytes, while imposing additional restrictions on undefined witness versions, a Taproot annex, large Taproot control blocks and certain Tapscript constructs.
Those provisions explain why the proposal has reached beyond the usual debate over transaction fees. They would apply to new UTXOs created after activation, while the BIP explicitly exempts UTXOs created before the activation height. When the temporary deployment expires, the specification says the restrictions cease and UTXOs are again unrestricted.
The trade-off is technical as well as philosophical. The BIP’s own discussion acknowledges that its 257-byte limit on Taproot control blocks could constrain some advanced off-chain designs, including BitVM-style uses, during the temporary period. It says the limits are designed as a short-term measure rather than a permanent endpoint.
Bitcoin has repeatedly handled contentious protocol questions through extended coordination. The site’s coverage of proposals around early Bitcoin wallets involved another debate over what consensus rules should do, but it addressed dormant coins rather than data-carrying transactions.
August Blocks Will Test the BIP-110 Threshold
The immediate checkpoint is not a token-price target or a corporate announcement. It is the block-height schedule. The BIP’s 55% threshold is lower than the 95% threshold described for standard BIP9 deployments, and the document uses no time-based timeout. Instead, it defines a maximum activation height and a mandatory signaling phase.
That structure makes the behavior of large pools relevant, but it does not make their preferences the only consideration. A consensus soft fork needs compatible enforcement across the network participants who choose to run it. The outcome remains uncertain until the signaling and activation conditions are tested on-chain.
Market sentiment was still cautious when the decision came into focus. Alternative.me’s Crypto Fear and Greed Index registered 28, or Fear, on July 19. The Bitcoin-focused gauge is not a vote on BIP-110, but it frames a governance dispute unfolding in a risk-sensitive market.
Fear & Greed Index
July 19, 2026The next confirmed milestone is the mandatory signaling window beginning at block 961,632. Readers should watch Foundry’s aggregate result, block-level signaling and any implementation notices from node and mining software teams, rather than treating a pool’s client ballot as proof that the temporary soft fork has activated.
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Primary sources and further reading
| Source | Title |
|---|---|
| | Bitcoin BIPs: BIP-110 Reduced Data Temporary Softfork |
| | Bitcoin Magazine: Foundry miner vote on BIP-110 |
| | CoinGecko: Bitcoin historical market data |
| | Alternative.me: Crypto Fear and Greed Index |
Fact-checked by: Daily Crypto Briefs Fact-Check Desk
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Foundry voting on for BIP-110?
Foundry says clients in its mining pool can vote with hashrate on whether the pool should signal Yes or No for BIP-110. The company says it will signal No until Yes votes exceed 51% of voting hashrate.
What would Bitcoin BIP-110 change?
BIP-110 would temporarily restrict several data-carrying transaction formats at the consensus layer, including new output scripts above 34 bytes except eligible OP_RETURN outputs, payloads above 256 bytes, some Taproot structures and OP_IF or OP_NOTIF in Tapscript.
When does the BIP-110 signaling window begin?
The specification sets a mandatory signaling window from block 961,632 to block 963,647. The height is projected to arrive in early August 2026, though exact calendar timing depends on block production.
Does BIP-110 affect existing Bitcoin UTXOs?
The BIP says UTXOs created before activation are exempt from the new rules. The temporary restrictions would apply to UTXOs created at or after activation, then expire after 52,416 blocks, or about one year.
Has Bitcoin BIP-110 activated?
No. BIP-110 is a completed specification in the Bitcoin BIPs repository, but activation depends on its defined signaling and height conditions. The proposal lists a maximum activation height of 965,664.