Bitcoin Core Devs Spark Controversy With OP_RETURN Phase-Out Plan

Bitcoin’s next protocol upgrade is already causing drama—developers confirmed plans to deprecate OP_RETURN, the scripting function used for embedding data in transactions. The move aims to optimize block space, but threatens to break hundreds of applications storing everything from legal documents to memes on-chain.

Purists cheer the change as a return to Bitcoin’s ’digital gold’ roots, while startups building atop OP_RETURN face a brutal migration. ’This isn’t an altcoin playground,’ tweeted lead developer Wladimir van der Laan—ignoring the irony that his own salary comes from MIT’s corporate-funded Crypto Fund.

The decision exposes crypto’s eternal tension: every ’purification’ effort inevitably benefits some stakeholders while crushing others. Expect wallet providers to spin this as ’streamlining’ while quietly hiking fees for data-heavy users.

Bitcoin Knots, a more customizable fork of Bitcoin Core, appeals to users seeking greater control over what their nodes relay or store, including allowing users to reject non-payment transactions like inscriptions.

Some prominent thought leaders in the industry, like Samson Mow, are encouraging node operators not to upgrade their version of Bitcoin Core, or use Knots instead.

Sanders defended the removal of the cap as aligned with Bitcoin’s ethos: minimal, transparent rules.

“By retiring a deterrent that no longer deters,” he wrote, “Bitcoin Core lets the fee market arbitrate competing demands.”

But that isn’t bringing much consensus.

“This marks a fundamental shift in the direction of Bitcoin,” one commenter warned on GitHub.

"This is the largest mistake Core can make at this juncture," another on Github added. “I want to be on the record saying that.”