Guida Revives Bitcoin’s Nuclear Option
Guida rebased proof-of-work change code written by Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr in 2017 onto a recent Bitcoin Knots codebase. The public branch updates the older concept for modern software and includes changes to mining validation, consensus settings, block handling, chain parameters and functional tests.

On Aug. 4, Guida told the public that the code is being kept “in our back pocket” in case miners block or stall BIP-110.

“People seem to think that the intention is for this pow change to activate immediately,” the developer wrote. “

That’s not the case This is just some code to have in our back pocket in case miners betray bitcoin, to activate at some point later.

The code is not yet scheduled for activation, and Guida has described it as a last-resort contingency rather than an imminent fork. The codebase public release still raises the stakes around BIP-110, a proposed temporary soft fork that would restrict how much nonfinancial data can be embedded in bitcoin transactions and could place enforcing nodes on a separate chain if miners refuse to cooperate.

Ordinals Keep Flowing While Bitcoin’s Biggest Players Stay Quiet
Those backing Ordinals, Runes and other arbitrary blockchain data are making their position unmistakably clear just before mandatory signaling begins.

At block height 961278, MARA Pool mined a block containing only two transactions, one of which embedded a vintage-style Pepe the Frog image. “Really MARA?” one user wrote. “3.85 MB space for this? People using Slipstream for

BIP-110 Forces Miners Toward a Deadline
BIP-110, formally called the Reduced Data Temporary Softfork, would tighten Bitcoin’s rules on arbitrary data for roughly one year. It would limit certain contiguous data, reduce permitted script sizes and restore an 83-byte consensus limit for OP_RETURN, a transaction field that can be used to attach data

. Supporters say the restrictions would return the base layer’s focus to financial activity and reduce legal or operational risks for node operators.

The proposal requires 55% miner signaling, or 1,109 of 2,016 blocks, for an early lock-in. If that threshold is not reached, a mandatory signaling window begins at block 961,632, projected to happen this weekend on or around Aug. 8 or 9. Nodes enforcing BIP-110 would then reject blocks that do not signal support, with lock-in expected no later than block 963,648 and activation targeted around 

Lightning Operators Move to Limit Fork Exposure

A proof-of-work fork would create complications far beyond mining. Start9 has warned that Lightning Network channels opened before a split may be difficult to recover or migrate because their pre-signed transactions, time locks and penalty rules were built around a shared chain history. A slowly advancing or reorganized chain could leave channel balances stranded or expose users to disputes involving older channel states. 

Start9 advised users to consider cooperative channel closures before the mandatory signaling window and said it closed its own company node channels as a precaution. Closing a Lightning Network channel normally returns funds to regular onchain outputs controlled by the user’s keys. Exchanges, custodians and payment services would face separate decisions about deposits, withdrawals, confirmation requirements and replay protection, which prevents a transaction on one chain from being copied onto the other.

Bitcoin’s Next Battle Tests Who Sets the Rules

The dispute revives arguments from Bitcoin’s 2017 block-size fight, when users promoted 

For now, Guida’s proof-of-work branch remains an unused contingency. The immediate test is whether bitcoin miners change their signaling behavior during the mandatory window and whether enforcing nodes remain on a viable chain. The next signals to watch are official Bitcoin Knots releases, miner support, Lightning channel closures, exchange policies and any move to give the hard-fork code a specific algorithm or activation date.

At the time of writing, chain  EDT on Friday, blocks remain before the mandate begins at block 961632. The numbers tell the story of 1,818 blocks have signaled BIP-110 support, leaving the current signaling rate stuck