According to foreign media, the alternative client, Dog Mode, launched by Bitcoin developer Leonidas, is taking an old argument back to the stage. It does not modify the bitcoin consensus rule, but relaxes the default trade-relay strategy of the nodes, making it easier for some of the Ordinals and Runes transactions that would otherwise be difficult to disseminate on the Internet to be forwarded.

No consensus, no relay strategy.

The entry point for DOG Mode is not a block validation rule, but how transactions are handled during the nodal pool phase. In short, even if a transaction meets the Bitcoin consensus, it will not necessarily be widely transmitted by default nodes. Doug Mode is trying to relax this layer.

According to the article, this is in stark contrast to the previous BIP-110. The latter would like to tighten the rules and compress the space for data-type transactions on the chain in order to reduce the use of block space for non-payment purposes such as pictures, text, etc.

The Ordinals dispute is rising again.

Leonidas has always supported the Ordinals protocol. The agreement allowed for the inclusion of data such as pictures, text, etc. in the Bitcoin chain and was therefore at the centre of the dispute for a long time. In support of tightening the rules, the view was expressed that the scarce block space of bitcoin should give priority to service currency settlement and that data-intensive transactions would crowd out financial transaction resources.

DOG Mode supporters have said the opposite. In their view, bitcoin should be a neutral space market for blocks. As long as the transaction is valid and the sender is willing to pay the current fees, the payment of the transaction and the Ordinals inscriptions should not be valued.

Under this logic, DOG Mode is not seeking permission through an agreement to upgrade, but is trying to remove the default tactical restriction in the eyes of supporters that “not bitcoin itself is necessary”.

Distinct or affect transaction dissemination

According to the article, the debate is not only about Ordinals, but also about who is in charge of the Bitcoin network. The network memory pool may be further divided if more and more nodes run different strategic software. Consensus levels will remain consistent, but different nodes may relay different types of transactions.

  • Cost estimates may become more complex
  • The speed at which part of the trade reaches the miners may vary.
  • The transmission path between the default node and the custom node may continue to split

This division is not entirely new, but the DOG Mode may widen the difference. In particular, non-conventional or bulk transactions, which are currently often rejected by default nodes, may become more likely to spread through point-to-point networks in the future.

It was also mentioned that users who sent large or non-standard transactions tended in the past to rely on specialized service providers or to establish direct access to the mine ponds to increase the probability that the transaction would be packaged. One of the aims of the DOG Mode is to make such transactions more easily disseminated through an open point-to-point network.

If such practices are supported by more nodes, the advantages of some institutionalized trade intermediaries and private relay channels may be eroded. However, it remains to be seen whether DoG Mode will be able to obtain an adequate rate of adoption.