Bitcoin Core 25.0 fork fails after mining two blocks

A proposed Bitcoin "anti-spam" fork has stalled after mining just two blocks, winning only 2.53% of mining support and leaving its chain hours apart and roughly 350 days from a difficulty adjustment.

The fork, called Bitcoin Core 25.0, aimed to tighten transaction fees to reduce spam and improve network efficiency. It was pushed by a small group of developers who argued that rising transaction costs and network congestion needed urgent fixes. Supporters claimed the changes would make Bitcoin more scalable and sustainable long-term. Critics, including many miners and node operators, saw it as unnecessary and potentially destabilizing.

The lack of miner support signals a split in the Bitcoin community over how to handle growth and fees. Bitcoin’s core protocol has stayed mostly unchanged since 2017, despite years of debate over scaling. The fork’s failure to gain traction shows how hard it is to push major changes through Bitcoin’s decentralized, consensus-driven system. Without miner backing, the fork has little chance of survival. Its two blocks remain isolated, with no new ones added in days.

Bitcoin’s price and network activity remain unaffected by the failed fork. Miners continue to process transactions on the main chain, and fees stay low for now. The episode highlights Bitcoin’s conservative approach to change—and the high bar for any update, no matter how small. Going forward, the debate over fees and scalability will likely continue, but through off-chain solutions like the Lightning Network. No new fork is expected soon. The experiment ends quietly, with the main network unchanged and Bitcoin’s core design intact.