Bitcoin OP_RETURN War Explained

What started as a technical proposal has exploded into community division, with accusations of “destroying Bitcoin” flying around. The hosts break down what OP_RETURN is, why some devs want to increase its size limit, and why others view it as enabling “spam” on the blockchain. At its core, this fight reveals deeper tensions about who controls Bitcoin’s future and what the network should be used for.

Notes:

– OP_RETURN limit currently set at 83 bytes

– Proposal would increase limit to ~1 megabyte

– 30-45% of Bitcoin transactions are “non-financial”

– Bitcoin Knots node usage has grown to 7-8%

– Out-of-band transactions bypass node relay

– Core devs facing diminished community trust

👉 Brought t

o you by Arch Network! Arch brings the speed of Solana & the best of crypto UX to Bitcoin. Tap into the rich app ecosystem on Arch & try out the testnet while you’re still early! Visit arch.network to learn more.

👋Bitcoin Season 2 is produced Blockspace Media, Bitcoin’s first B2B publication in Bitcoin. Follow us on Twitter and check out our newsletter for the best information in Bitcoin mining, Ordinals and tech!

Enjoy the show? Check out our website and newsletter by clicking here.

Questions or want to sponsor? hello@blockspace.media

Related Episodes

Live from Bitcoin 2025 in Vegas! JD Vance talks Bitcoin as neutral money, corporatization concerns, Lightning yields 9.7% APR, Peter Schiff's NFT saga, conference highlights & the suit invasion of Bitcoin culture.
May 31, 2025
PortlandHODL reveals how "poison blocks" can paralyze Bitcoin nodes for hours, creating profitable attack vectors for malicious miners while the network relies on policy filters for protection.
May 28, 2025
Storm Rund, President of Oklahoma Bitcoin Association, discusses the status of state Bitcoin strategic reserve bills, legislative processes, funding sources, and opportunity costs. The conversation also covers vibe coding and AI's impact on future business models.
May 21, 2025
We explore the Coinbase customer data breach, vulnerabilities in KYC systems, and the increasing risk of physical attacks against crypto holders.
May 17, 2025
Udi Wertheimer discusses Bitcoin Core's controversial OP_RETURN changes, mounting community backlash, and why Core developers are losing social capital with Bitcoiners over technical decisions they can't properly communicate.
May 07, 2025
Arizona leads the race to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve as two bills await the governor's signature. There are 38 other SBR bills, we break it down!
May 03, 2025
Mark Goodwin explains how stablecoins may be yoking Bitcoin to the dollar system, creating a mechanism for the US to maintain global financial dominance while appearing to embrace cryptocurrency. He argues Bitcoiners must fight to keep Bitcoin permissionless.
Apr 30, 2025
The untold story of "Bitcoin Pizza Guy"! Satoshi's wanted POKER in Bitcoin? Bitcoin has bugs? Is 21 million a MYTH?
Apr 26, 2025
Now, listen here

Get updates on new episodes and a whole lot more

By subscribing, you agree to the Blockspace Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

The Blockspace Newsletter, Free of Charge

The best in Bitcoin news & analysis, read by over 8,000 Bitcoiners.