A proposal from a Bitcoin developer has sparked new debate about whether the network should block activity that involves heavy use of inscriptions, like Ordinals and Runes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about Bitcoin BIP110 and the Ordinals spam debate written in a natural conversational tone
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What is BIP110 and why is it causing a debate
BIP110 is a new proposal to change how Bitcoin processes certain types of data Its causing a debate because it would effectively limit or ban inscriptions by treating them as spam which some people love and others hate
2 What exactly is an Ordinal on Bitcoin
An Ordinal is a way to assign a unique ID to the smallest unit of Bitcoin and then attach data to it This is what creates Bitcoin NFTs
3 Why do some people call Ordinals spam
Critics argue Ordinals clog up the blockchain with nonfinancial data making normal transactions slower and more expensive for everyone else They see it as an unintended and wasteful use of Bitcoins limited block space
4 What does BIP110 actually propose to do
It proposes to limit the amount of extra data that can be attached to a transaction specifically targeting the loophole used to create Ordinals In simple terms it would make creating these inscriptions much harder or impossible
5 Is BIP110 already active
No It is just a proposal It needs to be discussed by the community and developers and then require broad consensus to be activated Its not a done deal
AdvancedLevel Questions
6 How does BIP110 technically distinguish spam from legitimate data
It targets the specific use of OPFALSE and OPIF opcodes that Ordinals rely on to hide large chunks of data BIP110 would enforce a stricter limit on the total data pushed in these conditional paths effectively killing the current method of inscribing
7 What is the main argument for BIP110
It restores Bitcoins original purpose as a peertopeer electronic cash system Proponents believe blockspace should be reserved for financial transactions not digital art and that this change will lower fees for regular users