Bitcoin updates Core v30 "Open OP_RETURN", the opposition is on fire: decentralization is dead
Bitcoin Core v30 relaxes OP_RETURN data restrictions, triggering a tug-of-war between decentralization costs and legal risks
(Preliminary news: Bitcoin has confirmed to remove the OP_Return character limit, "20% of nodes quietly forked", OG blasted: non-monetary payments are garbage)
/>(Background supplement: Bitcoin's relaxation of OP_RETURN "annoys the old OG": BTC has become a junk currency and is considering selling and exiting the industry)
Contents of this article
Bitcoin Bitcoin Core v30 was officially launched on October 12, enlarging the amount of OP_RETURN embeddable data from 80 bytes to a maximum of 100,000 bytes, even approaching 4 MB under certain conditions. This change is seen by supporters as the key to unlocking more on-chain applications, but opponents worry that it will drive up node costs, bring legal risks, and replay the "block size war" debate in 2017.
Update content: OP_RETURN unblocked
According to the official announcement of Bitcoin Core, in addition to performance optimization and optional encrypted connections between nodes, the core highlight of v30 is the unblocking of OP_RETURN. In the past, to avoid infinite blockchain expansion, OP_RETURN has been locked at 80 bytes. The new version pushes the default to 100,000 bytes and allows developers to include larger data in a single output.
Alex Bergeron, head of the Ark Labs ecosystem, said bluntly:
"Make full use of the additional OP_RETURN space and use it to make Bitcoin more like Ethereum, and better."
He believes that relaxing restrictions can pave the way for Layer 2 technologies such as NFT, DeFi and even zk-proofs.
Objections: Capacity, cost and legal implications
Purists raise three major concerns. First, the explosion of data on the chain may increase the hard disk and bandwidth costs of full nodes, weakening decentralization. Second, block space is occupied by non-financial data, which may push up transaction fees and harm the daily payment experience. Third, the legal aspect is the most troublesome. Cryptozoologist Nick Szabo warned on the X platform that if someone uses OP_RETURN to upload illegal content, such as CSAM, the node operator may be prosecuted by the prosecutor. He appealed:
"As a (hopefully) temporary measure, run Knots. I strongly recommend not to upgrade to Core v30."
Pragmatic: The market mechanism adjusts itself
Supporters counter that block space should be determined by the fee market rather than artificially set limits. Pavol Rusnak, co-founder of Satoshi Labs, believes that the Core team has a mature development process and peer review, and the engineering judgment of v30 is "rational and robust." They also pointed out that OP_RETURN data can be prune by the node, and the long-term burden is lower than hiding the data in a fake public key.
Data liberals argue that if demand for NFTs, Rollups, etc. is strong in the future, those willing to pay higher fees will naturally gain space. On the contrary, if the market does not pay for it, the new features will exit on their own, and there is no need for hard restrictions.
The Rise of Knots: A Confrontation of Another Set of Values
Community members who were dissatisfied with Core turned to support alternative node software Bitcoin Knots. The project is led by Luke Dashjr and advocates strictly filtering "on-chain garbage" and adhering to the minimum data principle. BitRef statistics show that there are currently about 5,114 nodes using Knots, accounting for 21.48% of the entire network. The speed of data growth shows that many node operators tend to take a conservative route.
This battle is not just a code choice, but more like a vote of values: Should Bitcoin become a universal data layer, or should it focus on peer-to-peer payments? The answer will determine the future flow of funds, talent, and computing power.
After the Trump administration took office, the regulatory direction of the United States remains unclear. If legal risks are amplified, the conservative tendencies of node operators may accelerate and on-chain applications will be limited. On the other hand, if the regulatory framework allows for decentralized data storage, Bitcoin may usher in a new wave of development.
No matter what the outcome is, v30 has carved a dividing line in the history of Bitcoin development: the tug-of-war between the benefits of open data and the cost of decentralization will continue to test the community consensus mechanism. The next step is for the market to express its stance, which is also the starting point for rethinking Bitcoin’s positioning.
