Vote opens on extending XBT's 45-day coinbase lock to 2027
Bitcoin Knots developer Luke Dashjr has opened a community poll on extending the 45-day lock on newly mined XBT until the RDTS soft fork expires. Community members describe that date as around September 2027. The poll asks whether there is sufficient community support for extending the 45-day maturity until RDTS expiry, as planned. Options are Yes, No and I don't know. Nothing has been decided.
What the lock does today
Normally a miner can spend a block reward after 100 blocks. A soft fork, enforced by about 85% of reachable XBT nodes, raised that to 6,480 blocks (about 45 days) for rewards mined between blocks 973,440 and 979,920. Those rewards, roughly 20,250 XBT, are due to start unlocking at block 979,920, around the end of October, at about 450 XBT a day. Live countdown: xbt.live/unlock.
What's being proposed
According to a pinned message in the community Discord, the ideas on the table include:
- Extending the lock until RDTS expires, the option the poll asks about. Community members put that around September 2027.
- Delaying spending of new rewards by 4,375 blocks, about a month.
- Setting the block subsidy to zero for a month, so miners earn only fees.
The stated motive is to discourage a large wave of hash rate that appears to be mining for short-term profit only, which supporters say threatens the network's decentralization. The message adds that "no decisions are final."
What it would mean
| Who | If the extension is adopted |
|---|---|
| Miners | New rewards stay unspendable for many months instead of 45 days. Mining becomes a long-term bet, and hash rental or short-term miners lose the quick payout. |
| Hash rate | Likely to fall as profit-only miners leave. Difficulty would follow it down at the next adjustments. |
| Supply | The roughly 450 XBT a day expected from late October would be pushed back, removing new miner selling for the lock period. |
| Holders and buyers | No change. The lock applies only to newly mined block rewards, not to coins you already hold or buy. |
Open questions
- How would it be enforced? A longer lock would need a new node software release and enough nodes and miners running it. Watch for a Knots release and pool announcements.
- Does it affect rewards already locked? If it's adopted before block 979,920, rewards already in the lock window may stay locked longer. The exact activation rules aren't public yet.
- What about pools? Pools pay miners out of block rewards. A long lock could change how and when pools pay.
We'll update this story and the unlock countdown as soon as there's a decision or a release. Get it in your inbox with XBT Block, free every Friday.
Reporting only. Not financial advice. Details come from public community posts and may change.