Bitcoin Core Decides to Lift OP_RETURN Guardrails Even After Controversy

A recent statement from the Bitcoin Core team revealed that the controversial change to lift the current guardrails on OP_RETURN restrictions will be implemented in the next version.

The Bitcoin Core team has decided to move ahead with one of the most controversial changes proposed in the last year. According to a statement prepared by developer Gregory Sanders, and made in the name of the whole Bitcoin Core team, the next version of the node software will “by default, relay and mine transactions whose OP_RETURN outputs exceed 80 bytes and allow any number of these outputs.”

The limit had outlived its utility, as the team was determined to lift this cap which they said was counterproductive, ineffective, and “damaging.”

As it was explained by some core contributors several times during this public debate, the current guardrails were being outsmarted in several ways, including the utilization of private mining accelerators that don’t enforce these policies.

“Large-data inscriptions are happening regardless and can be done in more or less abusive ways; the cap merely channels them into more opaque forms that cause damage to the network,” Sanders explained.

For this reason, the core team chose to lift the OP_RETURN cap, as it “aligns default policy with actual network practice, minimises incentives for harmful workarounds, and simplifies the relay path.”

Knots, an alternative bitcoin client, has seen its implementation rise to 1,572 listening nodes. Meanwhile, Bitcoin Core powers 20,193 public listening nodes according to Coin Dance numbers.

However, the core team says the decision had earned broad but not unanimous support, and encouraged dissenters to run their own modified software to enforce new and stricter policies. The debate before the change saw accusations of developers colluding with companies and the discussion of what constitutes “spam” in the context of the bitcoin blockchain heat up.