An upcoming Bitcoin software update will increase the data limit on a divisive function that will allow significantly more images, text and documents to be stored on the Bitcoin blockchain, a developer says.
The Bitcoin Core 30 update slated for Oct. 30 will remove the 80-byte limit on the controversial OP_RETURN function and allow each output to carry up to 4 megabytes of data, Bitcoin Core developer Gloria Zhao posted to GitHub on Monday.
It comes three days after 31 Bitcoin Core devs signed a statement supporting the change, known as merged pull request (MPR) #32406. The Bitcoin devs indicated on May 5 that the data limit would be removed.
OP_RETURN enabled the Ordinals craze last year, allowing Bitcoin users to post everything on the blockchain from non-fungible token-like collections to the Afghan war logs published by WikiLeaks in 2010.
The slated change infuriated the conservative sect of the Bitcoin community, who argue that non-financial data clogs the blockchain with spam and believe the network should focus on peer-to-peer Bitcoin (BTC) transactions.
Crypto investment firm Reforge co-founder Alexander Lin said on X that the data limit expansion is a “terrible mistake,” and claimed upping the limit on the function “increases systemic risk to btc’s core property as sound money.”
Other Bitcoiners, including the lead author of the proposal, Peter Todd, believe increasing the data limit will expand Bitcoin’s use cases beyond finance.
Bitcoin devs say let the users decide
In the GitHub statement, Zhao said the Bitcoin Core devs favored a more hands-off approach, allowing users to utilize the chain however they choose:
“Demanding that Bitcoin Core prevent certain transactions from being mined reflects a misunderstanding of the relationship between open source software users and developers.”
Faith in Bitcoin Core “broken”
Several Bitcoiners voiced frustration on the data limit expansion, including Satoshi Action Fund CEO Dennis Porter.
“I’ve helped raise over $200,000 for core devs during my time in Bitcoin. My faith in their work is now broken,” Porter said, adding that he will no longer support Bitcoin Core development.
Jason Hughes, vice president of Bitcoin mining firm Ocean, hinted that he may walk away from the Bitcoin industry.
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“Personally, I’m out of energy on this fight,” he said in a lengthy X post.
Bitcoin Core losing market share
Since Todd introduced MPR #32406 on April 28, Bitcoin Core’s dominance in the market share of Bitcoin nodes has fallen from around 98% to a little over 88%, a pseudonymous Bitcoiner noted on X.
The Bitcoin Knots client has chalked up almost all, if not all, of that market share, which is now sitting at 11.48%, coin.dance data shows.
Bitcoin commentator Matthew R. Kratter said the decision to raise the data limit could spell long-term trouble for Bitcoin Core, adding its dominance could fall to the 20-30% range within the next one to three years.
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