Bitcoin developer Peter Todd has submitted a proposal to amend the Bitcoin Core code, aiming to lift restrictions on storing arbitrary data on the blockchain. The initiative has divided the community.
The proposal seeks to remove the 83-byte limit in the technical parameters of the OP_RETURN script. If the restrictions are lifted, node operators could publish larger volumes of data, such as media files, in transactions.
Todd’s proposal formalizes an initiative by Antoine Poinsot from Chaincode Labs. Both developers consider it “foolish” to cling to ineffective parameters, as users easily bypass the limit by broadcasting operations through private mempools like MARA Slipstream or alternative Bitcoin Core nodes such as Libre Relay.
Some commentators supported the removal of what they see as essentially redundant code.
Others, while acknowledging the inefficiency of the OP_RETURN limit, opposed its removal. They argue that lifting the restrictions would encourage spam on the network and threaten Bitcoin’s position as a financial asset.
Critics Concerned About Cryptocurrency’s Future
Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr, known as a staunch opponent of Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens, called Todd’s proposal “utter madness.”
“We need to fix bugs, not approve abuses,” he stated.
The programmer noted that the “attack” from “arbitrary data spammers” has been ongoing for over two years.
Bitcoin Core developers are about to merge a change that turns Bitcoin into a worthless altcoin, and no one seems to care to do anything about it.
I’ve voiced objections, lost sleep over this, and despite clear community rejection of the PR it’s moving.https://t.co/dMcQ4g8RjV
— Jason Hughes (@wk057) April 29, 2025
“Bitcoin Core developers are about to implement a change that will turn Bitcoin into a worthless altcoin, and it seems no one is doing anything about it. I’ve voiced objections, lost sleep over this, and despite clear public rejection, the proposal is advancing,” wrote OCEAN pool Vice President Jason Hughes.
The platform founded by Dash and Jack Dorsey incentivizes miners to ignore non-financial transactions by charging fees.
Casa co-founder and CTO Jameson Lopp noted the return of the “OP_RETURN wars” and reposted a statement asserting the failure of OCEAN’s censorship policy.
OP_RETURN WARS
EPISODE IV: NIXTHEFILTERShttps://t.co/IJxyZc87dI pic.twitter.com/KoEewzySNt— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) April 28, 2025
“Attempts to filter JPEGs, art, privacy, or ‘undesirable’ Bitcoin transactions for any other reason are economically irrational, technically trivial to route around, and guaranteed to fail,” stated a message published on the blockchain.
A Bitcoiner known as Bryan called Todd’s proposal “technically logical and correct.”
Here’s my honest opinion:
Peter Todd’s pull request (#32359) — proposing to remove the 83-byte limit on OP_RETURN — is logical if you’re being brutally honest about how Bitcoin is already being used. People are already putting arbitrary data onto Bitcoin through Taproot outputs…
— Bryan (@Bryan10309) April 29, 2025
“People are already placing arbitrary data through Taproot outputs and other scripts that bypass OP_RETURN restrictions. In this sense, the spirit of the old limit has long been dead,” he noted.
However, the user sided with critics of the decision, emphasizing that opponents like Dash are strategically correct. In his view, the long-term increase in data volume threatens:
- “bloating” the blockchain;
- increasing node operation costs (hardware, bandwidth);
- centralization pressure (only wealthy players could afford full nodes);
- weakening the narrative of Bitcoin as a reliable currency.
“The largest war over the first cryptocurrency is now not technical but cultural,” concluded Bryan.
In an HBO documentary, Todd was named as the creator of Bitcoin.
The programmer refuted the filmmakers’ claims, but Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery director Cullen Hoback continued to insist on his version of Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity.