The data limits in BIP110 do not break Lightning transactions. The real risk is a chain split around block 961,632 in early August 2026. What node operators and businesses accepting Lightning payments should know.

BIP110 does not break the Lightning Network at the protocol level: every output and script a standard Lightning channel uses fits within its proposed data limits. The real risk is indirect. BIP110 carries a forced activation at block 961,632, expected in early August 2026, and any contested activation creates chain-split risk that Lightning nodes, which must act on what they see on-chain, are uniquely sensitive to.

Lightning is Bitcoin's payment layer. It settles payments in under a second for fractions of a cent by moving value through channels: two-party accounts funded with bitcoin whose balances update off-chain. Channel security depends on publishing and seeing transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain, so any proposed change to Bitcoin's consensus rules deserves a close read from a Lightning operator's seat. This post gives BIP110 that read.

Does BIP110 break Lightning transactions?Does BIP110 break Lightning transactions?

No. Every output type a Lightning channel uses today fits inside the proposed limits. Channel funding and commitment outputs are pay-to-witness-script-hash or taproot scripts of exactly 34 bytes, which is precisely the cap BIP110 proposes. The scripts that enforce channel penalties stay far below the 256-byte push limit. And funds in channels opened before activation are exempt from the new input rules entirely.