The next main update of Bitcoin Core again aroused senior community tensions, throwing programmers who want a neutral, based on network fees towards purists who perceive non -financial data as spam.
Bitcoin Core V30, expected in October, will delete an 80-fable hat on OP_ReURN, part of the transaction script that allows users to deposit any data.
Bitcoin Core is a software that launches the Bitcoin network, run by an open group of programmers, but commonly relying by miners and nodes operators. While there are alternatives such as nodes, Bitcoin Core is a reference implementation of the protocol conducted by most networks.
On the surface, the dispute looks like a political debate on whether Bitcoin blockchain should be reserved for financial resources or opened for wider applications. But under this controversy they fall into deeper lines of political errors, and some factions accuse the core of Bitcoins of exposing the rules or bending on external influences.
Battle for the goal of Bitcoin
Bitcoin Core V30 critics warn that removing the OP_RETURN cap can open the door to spam and drainage of resources. They claim that larger op_returns encourage non -monetary transactions that throw away payments and raise the burden of nodes.
Proponents of the philosophy of the first money perceive this as improper operate of the system, insisting that Bitcoin is designed as a peer-to-peer payment network, not as a data hosting service.
This view is embodied in Bitcoin nodes, an alternative customer led by Luke Dashjr, who forces more severe default rules to block what classifies non -financial data. The nodes aim to hinder the transfer or deposition of any content.
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The basic programmers defend their decision for various reasons. Gloria Zhao, a babysitter for Bitcoin Core, said that people supporting the change “are not enthusiastic about data storage as a case of use”, but support the decentralized lock market, without applying relay rules that are more severe than miners.
“Existing standard methods (e.g. Bare Pubkeys) include flatulence of the UTXO set, representing the long -term cost for the network”, he said In the GitHub discussion thread, adding that Op_Rreturn is cut and less harmful.
Nodes supporters counterattacking that lifting the attachment increases the risk that illegal material will be permanently entered in blockchain. In extremes, they indicate the possibility of registering materials about sexual abuse of children (CSAM) on bitcoins if the hat is removed.
Developer and lawyer Bitcoin Jimmy Song – who is Not supporter V30 He rejected this argument, stating that the data set in Bitcoins “are not easily accessible”.
“Core version 30 does not display any images, movies or play no sound”, song he said. “Starting the software that verifies whether the block or transaction is in line with the Bitcoin rules does not make you a party to any wicked deeds in which the transaction may be involved.”
Debate on the interception of Bitcoin
In addition to the technical debate, the improvement of the V30 caused a political current therefore whether the Bitcoin core remains really independent.
Critics suggested that the main programmers favor projects such as the Citrea Project Layer-2 project, arguing that the removal of the OP_reuntun cap is in line with the needs of relaxation, which is based on embedding larger data charges in Bitcoin in order to obtain evidence for valid.
Others question the rhetoric of neutrality. They consider the “fee -based” approach as a way to normalize non -financial transactions, opening the door to tokens and inscriptions not free.
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The basic programmers reject these claims, emphasizing that decisions are made on the subject of GitHub, a chat of internet relay and mailing list, and reject suspicions of corporate capture as a political camp from the “Only money” camp. For them, the V30 consists in permission of transaction fees and maintaining Bitcoin rules in neutral and lucid.
“If a small, socially engineering” inner circle “really made software decisions on behalf of the entire network, then Bitcoin is actually a very delicate system,” said Zhao.
“I sincerely hope that if Bitcoin Core’s colleagues ever abandon these values - e.g. to calm social media or corporate wishes, the community will switch to a different implementation of nodes that does it better.”
Bitcoin Core V30 Eyes October
The argument about Op_return is ultimately more than bytes and scripts. For critics, it is a battle for maintaining Bitcoin’s identity as solid money, free from mess experiments. In the case of the main programmers, it is about adapting the software rules to what the network already accepts, leaving the market for BlockSpace to solve.
Regardless of whether the change releases the wave of subtitles or simply cleans the old-fashioned relay rules, the update forces the community to re -debate, which persecuted Bitcoin from the first days.
When the V30 is approaching the October edition, node operators, miners and companies will choose, update or stop. This choice, repeated on thousands of machines around the world, will not only determine the fate of the Op_reuntun cap, but also the way Bitcoin defines neutrality, independence and its future goal.
The division caused the raise in bitcoin nodes. At the beginning of 2025, about 400 bitcoin nodes operated on the Bitcoin network. This number increased to 4,713 knots. Currently, 22,496 public nodes operate on the Bitcoin network.
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