The upcoming release of Bitcoin Core v30 has ignited discussions about a potential hard fork and the influence of spot ETF sponsors in determining the dominant blockchain. Regulatory filings reveal that ETF sponsors, including BlackRock and Bitwise, have the authority to decide which fork is recognized as valid, potentially overriding traditional consensus mechanisms. This capability allows them to influence which blockchain is considered the 'real' Bitcoin in their funds. Although the v30 update introduces changes to transaction handling, it is not expected to cause a blockchain split.