Luke Dashjr has selected BLAKE2b, using a random process, as the new proof-of-work algorithm for the BIP-110 chain, replacing the SHA-256d algorithm currently used by Bitcoin. According to ChainCatcher, BLAKE2b is better suited to mining with general-purpose CPUs and GPUs and is more CPU-friendly than SHA-256d, which would reduce the advantage held by existing Bitcoin ASIC miners. The report also referenced an earlier update saying Dashjr plans to formally activate the BIP-110 hard fork on Sept. 1, turning it into an independent blockchain and creating a new token distinct from Bitcoin. Separately, earlier reports said Dashjr had already lost his Bitcoin BIP editor permissions after they were revoked by the Bitcoin BIP editor team.

Bitcoin entered the BIP-110 enforcement window at block height 961632 on Aug. 9, creating a live split between the main chain and a minority chain run by nodes enforcing the proposal. Those nodes began rejecting non-compliant blocks, including ones carrying non-monetary data transactions. But after a day, the BIP-110 chain had produced only blocks 961632 and 961633 and trailed the main chain by more than 200 blocks, leaving it far from the longest-chain consensus. The outcome matched the weak support seen before activation. Miner signaling was only about 2%, well below the 55% threshold cited in the article. Even so, supporters led by Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr have continued discussing a new proof-of-work algorithm for the BIP-110 chain, a move that would take the dispute beyond a soft fork and into hard fork territory. In Bitcoin Knots Discord discussions, participants considered options including RandomX, KT256, BLAKE3, BLAKE2 variants, Scrypt and Autolykos v2. The fight has now widened into a governance dispute over whether miners, nodes or the broader community determine Bitcoin’s direction. Critics including Michael Saylor, Adam Back and F2Pool co-founder Wang Chun rejected the BIP-110 case, while proposal author Dathon Ohm and Dashjr argued that large mining pools had forced the chain into this position.

Starknet is framing Bitcoin as the clearest test case for two problems it says onchain finance still has not solved: full public visibility of asset flows and the long-term security risks posed by quantum computing. Its answer is strkBTC, an ERC-20 on Starknet backed by BTC locked on the Bitcoin network and built on StarkWare’s STRK20 privacy framework. The token can operate in a standard public mode or a shielded mode that hides selected balances and transfers from public view, while allowing selective disclosure through compliance infrastructure run by Financial Privacy Inc. The current bridge is operated by a trusted consortium that includes Twinstake, NEAR Intents, Luganodes, UTXO Management and Xverse. The article also ties the product to Starknet’s broader post-quantum positioning. It cites a March report from Google Quantum AI, co-authored by Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake and Stanford professor Dan Boneh, which estimated that about $100 billion in the Ethereum ecosystem is at risk and said Starknet stands out among major L2s because its proving system relies on hash-based STARK assumptions rather than elliptic-curve cryptography. Even so, the piece says Starknet is not fully post-quantum today. Risks inherited from Ethereum, the consortium bridge model, and the real-world use of viewing keys all remain open questions as the network pushes its roadmap toward end-to-end security before a future “Q-day.”

Launched on June 23, 2025, VP.NET uses Intel SGX hardware security to physically isolate user identity from browsing activities. Even under legal compulsion, it cannot produce logs. The team includes privacy pioneers like PIA founder Andrew Lee.

StarkWare released Starknet's post-quantum cryptography migration roadmap on June 30, 2026, outlining three phases. Phase 1 replaces Pedersen hash with BLAKE2 for state commitments, contract addresses, and network configurations, while introducing Falcon-512 as a post-quantum consensus signature. Phase 2 focuses on migration tools for existing smart contracts. Phase 3 addresses dependencies on Ethereum's own post-quantum migration, including bridge system calls and blob data availability. The roadmap highlights Starknet's proactive approach to quantum resilience in the ZK-Rollup ecosystem.