Michael Saylor and Adam Back Warn Against Bitcoin’s BIP 110 Proposal

Highlights:

• Michael Saylor warns BIP 110 could set a dangerous precedent by changing Bitcoin’s neutral consensus rules.
• The proposal would temporarily restrict transaction data to reduce spam, blockchain storage, and pressure on node operators.
• Adam Back says supporters may create their own fork, but Bitcoin’s wider network is unlikely to follow.

Michael Saylor has warned against BIP 110, saying the proposal could create a dangerous precedent for Bitcoin. The Strategy chairman believes changing Bitcoin’s consensus rules to stop unwanted transaction data could cause more harm than the spam itself.

Saylor shared his view in a July 11 post on X. He wrote, “There are 110 things more dangerous to Bitcoin than spam.” He also said BIP 110 would turn a disagreement over spam into a rule change that rejects some transactions that are currently valid and pay normal fees.

According to Saylor, the main danger is not only the proposal’s immediate effect. The larger concern is that it could make it easier for groups to demand similar restrictions in the future. “That precedent is the danger,” Saylor said. He added that Bitcoin supporters should focus their energy on threats that are more serious to the network.

There are 110 things more dangerous to Bitcoin than spam.

BIP 110 turns a spam dispute into a consensus change that would invalidate some currently valid, fee-paying transactions.

That precedent is the danger. We should save our energy for threats that really matter. $BTC https://t.co/LoSkl9XSo1

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) July 11, 2026

BIP 110, officially called the Reduced Data Temporary Softfork, was first drafted on October 24 last year. The proposal was written by Dathon Ohm and received its BIP number on December 3. Its latest version was marked complete on June 25. However, publication in the BIP repository does not mean that the Bitcoin community has approved or adopted it.

What BIP 110 Wants to Change

BIP stands for Bitcoin Improvement Proposal. It is a formal document that presents a possible change or improvement to Bitcoin. BIP 110 proposes a temporary soft fork lasting about one year. A soft fork adds stricter rules to the network. Under BIP 110, upgraded Bitcoin nodes would reject transactions or blocks that break the new data limits.

The proposal aims to reduce large amounts of non-financial data placed inside Bitcoin transactions. Supporters often describe such data as spam because it can include images, files, and other content that does not directly involve sending Bitcoin.

BIP 110 would limit most new transaction output scripts to 34 bytes. It would also cap OP_RETURN outputs at 83 bytes. OP_RETURN is a part of a Bitcoin transaction that can carry small amounts of data. Other data fields and certain witness items would face a 256-byte limit. The proposal would also temporarily restrict several Taproot features that can carry additional data.

Coins created before the proposal’s activation would remain spendable under the previous rules. The new restrictions would mainly apply to transaction outputs created after activation. Supporters argue that these limits would reduce unnecessary blockchain data, lower the burden on node operators, and keep Bitcoin focused on payments and hard money. The proposal itself admits that it cannot completely stop spam. Instead, it would make large data storage harder and more expensive.

Saylor Supports Bitcoin’s Neutral Rules

Michael Saylor argued that BIP 110 would use those rules to block certain transactions because some users consider them spam. However, those transactions currently follow Bitcoin’s existing rules and pay fees to enter the network. Saylor’s post referred to a longer July 11 statement from Adam Back, the inventor of Hashcash and CEO of Blockstream.

Back said he understood why some newer Bitcoin users support BIP 110. Many supporters believe they are protecting Bitcoin from spam and unnecessary blockchain data. However, he argued that their solution goes against Bitcoin’s decentralized design. “You can modify your software, but not anyone else’s,” Back wrote.

He said decentralization means no central group can force its preferences on the whole network. Users are free to run different software, but they cannot require everyone else to follow the same rules.

Back also said Bitcoin’s slow and difficult process for approving changes is a strength. It protects the network from rushed decisions and rules that do not have wide technical support. According to Back, BIP 110 supporters can create their own fork if they strongly believe in the proposal. However, he does not expect the wider Bitcoin network to follow them. “But bitcoin won’t be joining it,” Back wrote.

On the filter fork topic.

I don't usually have time, but this morning listened to one of the twitter spaces from earlier in the week, with some well meaning relative bitcoin newcomers, that humanized them, and their concerns and thoughts for why they thought that made it…

— Adam Back (@adam3us) July 11, 2026