Jameson Ropp’s new chart has reignited one of Bitcoin’s oldest internal debates: whether visible node counts reflect actual support for rule changes.
The immediate flashpoint is BIP-110. This follows Bitcoin Core 30’s relaxation of the default OP_RETURN policy, which is a draft proposal that temporarily imposes stricter consensus-level restrictions on non-monetary data.
Ropp says the surge of nodes behind it may have been civilly inflated (i.e. artificially boosted by a single actor running a large number of nodes to simulate broader support).
| signal | what it can show | something that can’t be proven |
|---|---|---|
| Number of publicly reachable nodes | Visualize software distribution on your network | Substantial financial support for rule changes |
| non-listening/private node | Broad adoption beyond public nodes | Whether the operator is important for activation |
| minor signaling | Hashrate support for activation | Full support from exchanges, wallets and users |
| Node surge on one client or BIP | Increased interest and cooperation | Its support is organic, not cheaply manufactured |
Node chart that started it
Ropp shared a chart captioned “Sybil Attack Spotted” that shows the BIP-110 signal line spiking while the Bitcoin knot line soars.
Coin Dance’s current data, after correcting to exclude duplicate and non-listening nodes, shows 23,189 public Bitcoin nodes, of which 17,961 are running Bitcoin Core and 5,193 are running Bitcoin Knot.
Knots make up about 22% of the publishable set. This amount is far from equivalent to Core.
The numbers vary depending on the dashboard you use. Smart Wicked Bitcoin, the platform on which Ropp created the chart, tracked 22,362 Core v30 nodes, 11,997 Knots nodes, and 10,361 BIP-110 signaling nodes as of March 23.
This gap between Coin Dance’s public counts and the counts used by the Smart Wicked Bitcoin team exists because the two platforms measure worlds differently. While Coin Dance fixes duplicate and non-listening nodes, Smart Wicked Bitcoin’s broader count includes both listening and non-listening nodes.
Depending on the methodology, the same network can appear to be trending slowly or spiking dramatically.
Bitnodes’ own documentation provides well-sourced reasons why large all-node sums should be treated with caution, regardless of intent. Its global node estimate is described as a rough number that may include fake nodes rumored by non-standard or malicious peers.
Ropp’s appeal is precise and structured. In his commentary for BIP-110, he argues that reachable node signaling has no economic weight, thousands of nodes can be launched cheaply, and Tor addresses are “virtually free.”
His framework sees clusters of nodes that signal without any economic interest behind them as low-cost, manufactured governance theaters.
Ropp also draws clear parallels with previous Bitcoin governance battles, Bitcoin Unlimited and SegWit2x. There, visible node counts were used to assert consensus support and never led to actual network adoption.
His core point is that Bitcoin governance is performed based on the economic weight of miners, exchanges, wallet operators, etc., and cannot be expressed by an aggregation of reachable nodes.
The proliferation of BIP-110 signal nodes, even if genuine, leaves the activation issue completely open.
Loose core 30 and OP_RETURN
The trigger for BIP-110 was Bitcoin Core 30.0, released on October 10, 2025.
Its release notes confirmed that the default -datacarriersize has been increased to 100,000, effectively removing the old limit and allowing multiple OP_RETURN outputs for relaying and mining.
For the anti-spam camp, this change in policy was a red line. Relaxing defaults at the node level felt like authorizing arbitrary data storage on the Bitcoin network.
BIP-110 is a response and has been filed in the BIP repository as a “Reduced Data Temporary Softfork” written by Dathon Ohm.
This proposal tightens data restrictions at the consensus layer.
This specification places a 34-byte limit on new output scripts except for OP_RETURN output up to 83 bytes, limits data pushes and monitoring elements to 256 bytes, disables Taproot control blocks larger than 257 bytes, and prohibits the OP_SUCCESS opcode and OP_IF and OP_NOTIF executed in Tapscript during deployment.
BIP also acknowledges Luke Jr. for drafting and providing advice.
Activation design elevates it to a governance struggle. BIP-110 uses a modified version of BIP9 with a 55% signaling threshold and maximum activation height around September 1, 2026.
| topic | Current/Core 30 and later background | BIP-110 proposal |
|---|---|---|
| OP_RETURN policy | default -datacarriersize Increased to 100,000. Multiple OP_RETURN outputs allowed for relay/mining | OP_RETURN is limited to 83 bytes |
| output script | Easing the policy environment after Core 30 | New output scripts are limited to 34 bytes, except for OP_RETURN |
| Data push/monitoring elements | Greater data flexibility | limited to 256 bytes |
| Taproot control block | Larger scale construction possible | limited to 257 bytes |
| Tap script behavior | Existing upgrade flexibility | OP_SUCCESS disabled; executed OP_IF / OP_NOTIF Not allowed during deployment |
| activation design | Standard soft fork expectations usually imply broader consensus | Modified BIP9 with 55% threshold and mandatory signaling |
| supporter case | Bitcoin Drifting towards Arbitrary Data Usage | Restore focus on money and reduce spam |
| the case of the critics | Policy conflicts can remain at the node level | Risk of chain splitting, tap route constraints, overestimation of signal optics |
A soft fork activated on 55% of miner signaling leaves 45% of the hashrate and could produce blocks that the activated chain rejects, making the risk of chain splitting more than theoretical.
In addition to Sybil’s concerns, there are specific reasons why BIP-110 related nodes could be easily deployed in early 2026.
On February 6th, myNode released version 0.3.41 and added “Bitcoin Knots + BIP110 Custom Bitcoin Version” as an installation option.
In the February 19th RaspiBlitz pull request, we updated the Knots installer to download and run BIP110-compatible builds.
The official BIP-110 site lists a simplified installation path spanning Start9, Umbrel, myNode, Parmanode, and Docker, and explicitly encourages users to run a signaling node to demonstrate support.
This surge likely reflects a combination of true opt-in adoption, easier platform distribution, installation of private non-listening nodes, and Sybil-style inflation.
Graphs surface questions, but the data behind them doesn’t provide answers.
Betting Beyond the Signaling Battle
BIP-110 has deep technical implications for Bitcoin’s Taproot architecture.
The draft temporarily disables advanced Taproot constructs that rely on the OP_SUCCESS upgrade hook, limits the execution of OP_IF and OP_NOTIF in Tapscript, and limits control blocks to 257 bytes.
Both the proposal and the BIP-110 site acknowledge trade-offs.
Large BitVM-style tap trees will have to wait, wallets that generate arbitrary Miniscripts will need to be updated, and if narrow, some funds may be frozen or lost during the deployment period. The site explains that the risk is extremely low and says that pre-activation UTXOs remain exempt.
Ohm and other supporters believe these restrictions are temporary and worth tolerating in order to restore Bitcoin’s monetary focus.
The bearish case centers around a failed correction. If the 55% threshold proves insufficient to bring miners and economic actors on board, the result will be a failed soft fork and a months-long debate over the signal light for the network. At the same time, real governance issues remained unresolved.
Bitcoin has existed before. The difference this time is that Core is the first to change the default, BIP-110 proponents are running a coordinated node distribution campaign across multiple platforms, and the activation threshold is low enough to materialize chain-splitting scenarios.
Whether this surge represents a genuine coalition or an exaggerated signal, the debate it has sparked is the same one that has defined Bitcoin’s governance struggles for a decade: who matters, who counts, and who decides.
(Tag translation) Bitcoin
