Bitcoin Core Proposes Removal of Controversial OP_RETURN Limit, Community Consensus Yet to be Established

According to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin Core developers have decided to remove the 80-byte limit on OP_RETURN in the next network upgrade, allowing more data to be written to transactions in a more efficient manner.

Bitcoin developer Greg Sanders stated in an announcement on GitHub:

He added that this long-standing limitation was originally intended as a “gentle reminder” that block space should be conservatively used for publishing non-payment data, but it has since lost its practical utility. This proposal (PR 32359) was put forward by early Bitcoin developer Peter Todd at the request of Chaincode Labs.

OP_RETURN is a special output format in Bitcoin transactions that allows a small amount of data to be written to the blockchain, widely used during the Ordinals inscription craze in early 2024. Unlike regular transaction outputs, OP_RETURN outputs cannot be spent and do not contribute to the burden of unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs).

Sanders indicated that the original limitation is no longer effective, as people have found workarounds, such as using fake output addresses, which are detrimental to network health. Moreover, some mining services have already chosen to ignore this limitation. He wrote:

He further noted that the benefits of removing this limitation include a cleaner UTXO set, improved consistency in overall network behavior, and a closer alignment with Bitcoin’s current actual usage.

The development team considered three options: retaining the limit, raising the limit, or removing the limit, ultimately deciding to remove the limit, which received broad support, though not necessarily unanimous consent.

Community Discussion

Notable Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow commented on the removal of the OP_RETURN limit on the social platform X, stating that many users believe this is an unwelcome change for various reasons. Users can choose not to upgrade, continue using version 29.0, or switch to alternative node implementations like Bitcoin Knots.

Some critics pointed out that this proposal was made without a proper consensus process. Ten31 Fund managing partner Marty Bent stated: “I think one thing is very clear: there is currently no consensus on the OP_RETURN issue.”

There are also concerns expressed about the potential weakening of Bitcoin’s financial utility, with questions raised about whether there are undisclosed conflicts of interest.