Simon Dixon Hard Talk Episode 128 - Hijacking Bitcoin? Knots vs Core: Bitcoin’s Next Governance War (Core v30 & BIP 110)
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Feb 13, 2026 A heated look at Core v30 versus BIP 110 and the clash between competing Bitcoin implementations. They cover miner activation versus user activation dynamics and the replay of block‑size and SegWit-era battles. The conversation digs into Ordinals, spam and OP_RETURN policy fights. Key actors to watch include miners, exchanges and large holders as potential catalysts for a new governance clash.
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SegWit2x Meetings Ended With A Canceled Hard Fork
- Simon recounts the SegWit2x negotiations and the Hong Kong, Milan and New York meetings that attempted a soft-fork then a 2x hard-fork compromise.
- He describes the last-minute cancellation of the hard-fork and the resulting anger that helped trigger Bitcoin Cash and competing implementations.
User Nodes Can Force Consensus Through UASF
- User-activated soft forks (UASF) shift power toward node runners and users by allowing nodes to reject blocks that don't follow a rule.
- Dixon explains BIP148/BIP91 history showing how user-node pressure forced miners to accept SegWit without a destructive split.
Taproot And Ordinals Reopened The Spam Debate
- Taproot and Ordinals reignited the spam debate by enabling inscriptions that increased block data and fees.
- The result: competing node policies emerged (Knots with strict mempool filters versus Core's neutral default and larger OP_RETURN), re-opening governance conflict.