Bitcoin Core, a community-driven free software project, released a detailed position on transaction relay policies. While the release aimed to defend its role in improving block propagation and fee market efficiency, it has stirred debate across the Bitcoin (BTC) community.
Specifically, critics argue that it opens the door to spam while simultaneously challenging the decentralization ethos of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Core Defends Relay Policy Amid Spam Controversy
Bitcoin Core outlined the goals behind its transaction relay policy. It cited improved fee prediction, faster block propagation, and enhanced miner visibility into fee-paying transactions.
“The goals of transaction relay include: predicting what transactions will be mined… speeding up block propagation… [and] helping miners learn about fee-paying transactions,” read an excerpt in the statement.
They emphasized that its role is not to mandate network rules, but to support a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) protocol.
“Bitcoin is a network that is defined by its users… Bitcoin Core contributors are not in a position to mandate what those are,” the developers wrote.
They reaffirmed that while Bitcoin Core may implement policies to deter denial-of-service (DoS) attacks or inefficient use of block space, it should not block transactions “that have sustained economic demand and reliably make it into blocks.”
This hands-off approach has drawn sharp criticism from Bitcoin community members. Among them is veteran software developer and OCEAN protocol CTO, Luke Dashjr, who rejected the rationale outright.
“NACK. The goals of transaction relay listed are basically all wrong. Predicting what will be mined is a centralizing goal. Expecting spam to be mined is defeatism. Helping spam propagate is harmful,” Dashjr posted on X (Twitter).
This stance aligns with that of Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto. BeInCrypto reported in October that Wright, a controversial scientist, filed a £911 billion lawsuit against Bitcoin Core and Square.
Wright challenged Bitcoin Core to prove its adherence to Bitcoin’s original principles. His lawsuit focused on the integrity of Bitcoin’s design rather than Nakamoto’s identity.
“If BTC Core wishes to assert that they are the true continuation of Bitcoin, they must do so openly and transparently, and they must do it on the basis of the original design. The burden of proof is theirs. If they can demonstrate, through fact and reason, that they have upheld the principles of small, peer-to-peer transactions, of a decentralized, electronic cash system—then I will have no need to continue with my lawsuits. I will walk away, satisfied that the truth has prevailed,” wrote Wright in a post.
Expert Blasts Bitcoin Core’s Stance as Harmful and Centralizing
Dashjr, also known as Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton, is the creator of the OCEAN Bitcoin mining pool. He argued that the Bitcoin Core position “contradicts itself.”
On the one hand, it condemns out-of-band relay and acknowledges it as a necessary workaround. According to Dashjr, the policy gives undue legitimacy to what he considers blockchain abuse.
“It treats abuse of the blockchain and nodes as legitimate ‘use cases’ rather than the DoS attacks they actually are,” the developer added.
The dispute highlights an ongoing tension within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Should the network remain completely neutral and fee-driven, or actively defend against what some deem harmful behavior?
Some community members supported Bitcoin Core’s neutrality stance, suggesting that filtering based on subjective definitions of “spam” risks undermining censorship resistance.
From this view, and backed by economic demand and miner incentives, the fee market should determine which transactions are processed.
Nevertheless, Bitcoin Core acknowledged the controversial nature of its stance.
“We recognize that this view isn’t held universally by all users and developers,” the developers wrote.
Cognizant of this, they aim to align transaction acceptance rules with Bitcoin’s long-term health and miners’ rational self-interest.
The broader implications of this policy debate may shape the future of transaction censorship and miner incentives. More importantly, it may influence the balance between security and openness in Bitcoin’s protocol.
As the community grapples with increasing block space demand and diverse use cases, including ordinals and data embedding, the question remains: Who decides what belongs on Bitcoin? For now, Bitcoin Core has made its position clear.
Notwithstanding, in a system with no central authority, the consensus lies with the network’s users, the miners, and the node operators.
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