The process of choosing a new proof-of-work algorithm for the BIP-110 fork has turned contentious after Luke Dashjr proposed using the last character of the first Testnet4 block hash found after 14:00 UTC to decide the winner. Peter Todd sharply criticized the idea, calling it 「an extremely crazy decision」 and arguing that Testnet4 blocks are cheap enough to mine that someone could repeatedly compute hashes to steer the outcome toward a preferred algorithm. The dispute deepened when multiple competing Testnet4 blocks appeared at the same height, raising fresh questions about whether the method could produce a fair result at all. In the BIP-110 Discord, Dashjr responded by saying, 「I’m even more confused.」 One participant said they had already ordered a Blake2b ASIC before the algorithm was finalized, then added, 「I guess I should cancel the order.」 Dashjr later acknowledged that Testnet4 was 「not a good way to do this」 and suggested that a valid Bitcoin block could be used instead. Giacomo Zucco said the episode shows that fairly 「restarting Bitcoin」 is now almost impossible. Bitcoin News reported the developments.
The selection process for a new proof-of-work algorithm in the BIP-110 fork has fallen into confusion.
Luke Dashjr proposed using the last character of the first Testnet4 block hash to appear after 14:00 UTC to determine which algorithm would be chosen. Peter Todd rejected the idea and called it 「an extremely crazy decision.」 He argued that the cost of mining Testnet4 blocks is low enough that someone could deliberately keep recomputing hashes to force the result toward a preferred algorithm.
After that, several competing Testnet4 blocks appeared at the same height. In the BIP-110 Discord, Dashjr replied: 「I’m even more confused.」
During the discussion, one participant said they had already ordered a Blake2b ASIC before the algorithm had been confirmed, then added: 「I guess I should cancel the order.」
Dashjr later acknowledged that Testnet4 was 「not a good way to do this」 and suggested using a valid Bitcoin block instead.
Giacomo Zucco said the episode shows that fairly 「restarting Bitcoin」 is now nearly impossible.
Bitcoin News reported the developments.
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