Imagine, dear digital connoisseur, a forthcoming Bitcoin pièce de résistance—an upgrade so daring it dares to shatter the venerable 80-byte chastity belt of OP_RETURN, thus unshackling the chains of our beloved blockchain to host an opulence of images, texts, and clandestine documents. A tantalizing promise, or a digital Pandora’s box? Who’s to judge, when the devs decree?
On the ominous date of October 30—mark it in your cyber diaries—the Bitcoin Core 30 update, as sprightly announced by Gloria Zhao on GitHub (a woman after my own heart), will lift the 80-byte prison, giving free rein to up to 4 megabytes of data per output! 💥 Because nothing says ‘trust’ like more data clogging the blockchain, right? The move follows the clapping, or perhaps the polite but firm dissent, of 31 devs signing MPR #32406—who clearly prefer their Bitcoin lean and mean, not bloated and tawdry.
Ah, OP_RETURN, the reckless harlequin that last year set ablaze the Ordinals craze—allowing users to carve their digital signatures into the immutable stone, from NFT-ish treasures to the secrets of the Afghan war logs (wikileaked and proud). A veritable cacophony of data, much to the chagrin of Bitcoin traditionalists—those who believe the blockchain should only serve to transfer shiny coins, not serve as a photocopy machine for the world’s ephemera.
Decked out in their conservative armor, these purists bellow that this “flood of non-financial data” is spam, blasphemy against the sacred trust of peer-to-peer transactions. Alexander Lin, a crypto sheriff of sorts, per X (formerly Twitter), dismisses this as a “terrible mistake,” fearing it might jeopardize Bitcoin’s holy grail—sound money. Because, darling, who needs history, art, or cat memes when you can just keep those coins flying 🤑?
Meanwhile, the indomitable Peter Todd, the wizard of Bitcoin lore, and other champions believe that expanding data limits could unleash Bitcoin from mere finance—perhaps making it a digital Swiss army knife. Or, as they say in the alleyways of cyberspace, the sky’s the limit! 🚀
Bitcoin devs whisper “Let Users Play,”
Zhao, in her wisdom (or daring), insists the devs prefer a laissez-faire approach, trusting users to transform the chain into their personal digital whims:
“Demanding that Bitcoin Core prevent certain transactions from being mined reflects a misunderstanding of the relationship between open source software users and developers.”
Core’s Faith in Humanity—Shattered
Bitcoiners like CEO Dennis Porter have lost their faith—breakfasting on promises of decentralized trust, only to choke on the data deluge. “I helped raise over $200,000 for core devs,” he confesses, “but my belief is now broken,” vowing, perhaps, to find greener (and quieter) pastures elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Jason Hughes hints he’s emotionally drained—perhaps even contemplating a final curtain call on his Bitcoin career. “I’m out of energy,” he sighs, exhausted by the digital chaos.
Market share, or the slow death of the Core?
Since Todd’s bold MPR #32406, Bitcoin Core’s dominion has waned—dropping from an intimidating 98% to a meager 88%, as observed on X (Twitter). The juggernaut Bitcoin Knots now claims nearly all the remaining territory, a quiet rebellion in the blockchain empire (coin.dance reports). Could this be the beginning of a fragmentation symphony? As Matthew R. Kratter muses, within three years, Core’s throne might crumble to 20-30%, replaced by what—anarchy or an even more chaotic blockchain babel?
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2025-06-11 04:43