Developer warns BIP-110 fork could expose Bitcoin holders to replay theft

Bitcoin developer Kevin Loaec warned on Aug. 8 that if a Bitcoin fork tied to the disputed BIP-110 proposal emerges this weekend, holders trying to sell coins on the forked chain could accidentally lose real BTC on the original network. The risk comes from the lack of replay protection in the early stage of a chain split, which could allow a transaction signed on one chain to be copied and executed on the other. According to the report, if Bitcoin splits into two chains, users may initially hold matching BTC balances on both. That may tempt some traders to sell what looks like “free” fork coins. But without proper separation of assets, the signed transaction used to move those fork coins could also be valid on the main Bitcoin chain, letting the buyer receive the same amount of real BTC. Loaec said the safest option for holders who do not know how to securely split assets across both chains is to do nothing for now. He added that untouched BTC is not exposed to replay attacks because no signed transaction exists to copy. BIP-110 currently has about 2.6% miner signaling support, far below the level needed for activation, leaving uncertainty over whether a fork will actually take shape.