Developers behind Bitcoin BLAKE2b, a minority fork of Bitcoin that launched on August 8, 2026, have merged a software change that prevents miners from spending newly generated coins for 45 days. The update, contained in Bitcoin Knots pull request 419 titled “Long coinbase maturity,” was opened by Luke Dashjr on September 15 and merged on September 21. Enforcement begins at block 973440, expected around September 22, and remains in effect through block 979920.

Origins of the Fork and Early Struggles

Bitcoin BLAKE2b emerged from supporters of BIP-110 and Bitcoin Knots who sought to limit large non-monetary data on the Bitcoin network. After the proposal failed to achieve consensus, the group forked at block height 961632. The new chain initially inherited Bitcoin’s mining difficulty, which nearly halted progress. Only about eight blocks were produced in the first 22 days.

Developers restored activity by adopting the BLAKE2b hash function, resetting difficulty, and reducing block size. The token, traded as BTCB2 or XBT on limited venues, then attracted listings on smaller exchanges. Its price rose to 1799 USD in early September before falling 84 percent to a recent range of 270 to 315 USD.

The 45-Day Coinbase Maturity Rule

Under standard Bitcoin rules, miners may spend coinbase rewards after 100 confirmations. The new rule extends that waiting period to 45 days for Bitcoin BLAKE2b. Release notes accompanying the change accuse “apathetic BLAKE2b incumbents” of exploiting the chain through “blind hashing instead of mining.”

Dashjr has described the lockup as the first of three planned measures. Future steps could lengthen the maturity window to a full year and, if consensus forms, withhold rewards from blocks produced by non-miners.

Concerns Over Mining Pools and Network Stability

The price surge earlier this month drew additional hashpower to the chain. Dashjr has accused certain large pools of growing too dominant and attacking the network while it continues to stabilize. Reviewers of the pull request cautioned that nodes adopting the new rules without majority hashrate support risk creating another chain split at the activation height. A release candidate carrying the change has already been issued.

Neoxa, one of the few exchanges listing the asset, confirmed it will support the soft fork and informed users that coinbase maturity will increase once the update activates.

Background on BIP-110

BIP-110, known as the Reduced Data Temporary Softfork and authored by Dathon Ohm in December 2025, never secured broad backing. By February it had support from fewer than 10 percent of nodes and none of the top 20 mining pools. In early July, Nakamoto founder David Bailey stated the proposal was no longer viable.

The Bitcoin BLAKE2b chain remains listed on only a small number of platforms and is not tracked by major market data aggregators. The upcoming maturity change represents the latest adjustment as the minority network seeks to manage miner incentives after its turbulent start.