The next major Bitcoin Core upgrade has reigned old community tensions, with the developers who want a neutral, driven network against purists who see non-financial data as SPAM.
The Bitcoin Core V30, which is expected in October, will remove the 80-byte cap in OP_RETURN, part of a transaction script that allows users to embed unreasonable data.
The Bitcoin Core is a software that runs the Bitcoin network, which is maintained by an open group of developers but is widely dependent on miners and node operators. While alternatives such as the knots exist, the Bitcoin core is the implementation of the protocol reference that most network manages.
On the surface, the dispute seems to be a policy debate about whether the Bitcoin blockchain should be reserved for the financial way or open to greater use. But under it, the controversy has tapped the deeper lines of political sin, with some factions accusing the Bitcoin core of compromising principles or bending out of influence.
The battle with the purpose of bitcoin
Bitcoin Core V30 critics are warning that the OP_RETURN CAP removal can open the spam door and drainage source. They argue that larger op_returns encourage non -financial transactions that release payments and increase the burden on the nodes.
Supporters of the first currency philosophy see it as a misuse of the system, asserting that Bitcoin is designed as a peer-to-peer payment network, not as a data hosting service.
That view is embodied in the Bitcoin knots, an alternative client maintained by Luke DashJR, who implemented tighter default policies to hinder what it classifies as non-financial data. The knots are designed to make it more difficult to restore OI -Embed the unjust content.
Related: Bitcoin Knots Gain Ground: A chain split kills BTC price?
The major developers defend their decision on a variety of grounds. Gloria Zhao, a Bitcoin Core caregiver, said the supporters of the change “were not enthusiastic about storing data as a case of use” but supported a decentralized market for Blockspace by not imposing relay policies more difficult than the miners are already accepting.
“The existing standard methods (e.g. Says In a discussion of the GitHub discussion, the addition that OP_RETURN is prunable and less harmful.
Supporters of the knots are opposed that lift lift increases the risk of illicit material permanently written on the blockchain. To the point, they point out the possibility of a child abuse (CSAM) recorded in Bitcoin if the cover is removed.
Bitcoin’s developer and advocate Jimmy Song – Who Not a V30 supporter -That argument was rejected, saying that the data that was embedded in Bitcoin was “not easy to access.”
“Core version 30 does not display any image or video or play any audio,” song Says. “Running a software that proves whether a block or transaction is in accordance with the Bitcoin policies you have not made a party in any undesirable works that the transaction concerned may be involved.”
The debate on the Bitcoin corporation’s acquisition
Beyond the technical debate, the V30 upgrading has provoked a political undercurrent if the Bitcoin core remains truly independent.
Critics have suggested that major developers favor adventures such as the Citrea Layer-2 project, which focuss that removal of the OP_RETURN CAP is happening to align the needs of rollups that rely on embedding larger data payload in Bitcoin for proof proof.
Others talk about the rhetoric of neutrality itself. They look at the approach to “compensated by fee” as a way to normalize non -financial transactions, opening the door to unimaginable tokens and inscriptions.
Related: Lessons learned from a Bitcoin level level class
The main developers are refusing these claims, emphasizing that decisions are made in tomorrow at GitHub, Internet relay chat and the mailing list and remove the suspicions of getting corporations as a political cycle from the camp “money”. For them, the V30 is about letting the transaction fee market decide and maintain bitcoin policies neutral and transparent.
“If a small, social engineer ‘inner circle’ really made software decisions on behalf of the whole network, then Bitcoin is really a fragile system,” Zhao said.
“I sincerely hope that if those who contribute to the Bitcoin Core leave these values -e.g., to entertain social media or corporate preferences, the community will move to another node implementation better.”
Bitcoin Core V30 Eyes October Exit
The argument with op_return is ultimately more than bytes and scripts. For critics, it is a battle to maintain Bitcoin’s identity as a sound of money, free from the clutter of data experiments. For major developers, it is about aligning software policies on the network -accepted, leaving the market for blockspace to organize itself.
Whether the change is releasing a wave of inscriptions or simply cleaning up -to -date relay rules, upgrading the community to revisit a debate that is haunted by Bitcoin since its early days.
As the V30 approaches its October, node operators, miners will choose to upgrade or control. That choice, repeating -repeated thousands of machines around the world, will determine not only the fate of the OP_RETURN cap but also how bitcoin determines the neutrality, independence and its future purpose.
The division resulted in increased nodes of bitcoin knots. There are about 400 Bitcoin knots nodes running on the Bitcoin network at the beginning of 2025. That number has grown to 4,713 nodes. There are current 22,496 public nodes running on the Bitcoin network.
Magazine: 7 Reasons why Bitcoin mining is an awful business idea
