The Tragic Tale of BIP30

In the recent discussion on the Bitcoin Development Mailing List, an intriguing concept was introduced by Ruben Somsen. The idea revolves around a unique approach to forking the Bitcoin blockchain. It suggests leveraging the BIP54 rule concerning nLockTime to initiate a fork. According to Somsen's strategy, none of the existing blocks adhere to the BIP54 specifications for nLockTime. This non-compliance would lead to the rejection of all current blocks under this criterion, enabling the creation of a new fork starting from block 1.

This method presents a novel way to think about blockchain forks, focusing on utilizing specific protocol rules (in this case, BIP54 related to nLockTime) as mechanisms to diverge from the main chain. The concept emphasizes technical aspects of Bitcoin's design that can be explored for developing alternative branches of the blockchain. Such discussions underscore the complexity and flexibility of blockchain technology, illustrating how its underlying principles can be interpreted or reimagined to serve different purposes or visions within the cryptocurrency space.