Slovak Developer Embeds Image in Bitcoin Transaction Without Taproot or OP_RETURN

Slovak programmer embeds image in Bitcoin blockchain, challenging BIP-110 rules.

In an experimental move, Slovak programmer Martin Habovštiak embedded a 66 KB image into the Bitcoin blockchain, challenging the proposed anti-spam rules of BIP-110.

Oooops, my contiguous image file got misinterpreted as a transaction WITHOUT OP_RETURN by the Bitcoin network and now it’s forever contiguously stored in the chain!https://t.co/R2QOUqxABo

(BTW, I only logged in to post this don’t expect me to use X again anytime soon.)

— MⒶrtin HⒶboⓋštiak [BEFORE! Jan/3➞₿🔑∎, LNP/BP] (@kixunil) February 27, 2026

The publicly accessible transaction contains hexadecimal code that, when decoded, converts into a TIFF image file. The picture depicts a crying Bitcoin developer, Luke Dash Jr., a key proponent of BIP-110.

The transaction does not contain OP_RETURN opcodes, does not rely on Taproot (instead using SegWit v0), and includes no OP_IF instructions. Thus, it completely bypasses the restrictions proposed under BIP-110.

Introduced in early December 2025, the proposal suggests a temporary consensus-level reduction in the size of transaction data. Led by the Bitcoin Knots team, the initiative is designed for one year and is implemented through a soft fork.

BIP-110 is positioned as a measure against spam in the network and as legal protection for node operators in case of illegal content dissemination. At the time of writing, about 8.8% of nodes signal support for the initiative.

In his blog, Habovštiak published instructions for verifying the transaction and extracting the image. He stated that the project’s goal was to provide evidence that the claims of Bitcoin Knots supporters “do not correspond to reality.”

“The main thesis of Knots supporters is that the legality of stored data [blockchain state] on the hard drive matters. Therefore, they call for reducing the size of every bit of data in the Bitcoin network so that no one can do anything illegal. The idea itself is already absurd,” the developer stated.

Habovštiak noted that the project was a “one-time action” and promised not to publish the code to avoid “a new wave of NFT-shitcoins” on the Bitcoin network.

He described himself as an opponent of blockchain spam but emphasized that he despises lies even more.

“Spammers will always find a workaround. As did I. And what’s worse, almost all these protective methods, besides facilitating spam, create other problems, including increasing its volume,” the programmer added.

Earlier in February, Blockstream CEO Adam Back called the BIP-110 update an attack on Bitcoin’s reputation and a “lynch mob.”