OP_RETURN a Rehashed 2010 Arbitrary Data Debate

The Bitcoin community is split into the decision of Bitcoin Core developers to remove any restrictions on data stored in transactions.

The expected release of Bitcoin Core V30 next month will remove the 80-byte cap of OP_RETURN, the OPCODE used to store on-chain for any data (any non-financial data). The decision has proven controversial, with some accusing some developers of succumbing to corporate influence, while others arbitrary-volatile data storage being outside the intended scope of Bitcoin.

However, this argument is much older than the OP_Return itself, which was introduced in March 2014 with Bitcoin Core 0.9.0. In 2010, when Bitcoin (BTC) was only one year old, Nakamoto, the pseudo-creator of the protocol, sparked the same argument by introducing the same argument to introduce its transaction data.

The choice to limit the storage of any data-on-chain is quickly debatable. “Why do miners adopt this change when it means that non-standard transactions are lost, so why do they adopt this change?” asked one user.

Related: Jimmy’s song slams Bitcoin core developers for the op_return “Fiat” mentality

governs the incentives

Bitcoin is a decentralized network with no central authorities that cannot enforce its rules, complicating enforcement.

If miners have financial incentives allowing something like including on-chaining non-financial data, they may adjust the parameters of the software in a way that allows for that. This was also the case at the time, with several miners announced that they would use arbitrary data to allow non-standard transactions.

One user suggested that non-standard transactions up to 128 bytes were allowed, but Bitcoin core developer Jeff Garzick said it would make little sense to try to enforce such restrictions.

“If official Bitcoin clients are interested in including transactions that carry every fee, it seems pointless to try to “legislate” this type of limitation. ”

Related: Bitcoin Core Default Minimum Relay Fees decrease by 90% when updates are deployed

Accepting the inevitable

Users also immediately released patches for the latest version of Bitcoin Core that did not include a check to ensure they follow established standards. Early Bitconner Christian Decker realized this was a key moment for the Bitcoin community.

“I think there will be the first official release to challenge Bitcoin, the majority of its computing power, age.”

As some commenters suggested in 2010, it is difficult to ensure that miners implement rules that violate their own incentives to include fee pay transactions. A January 2024 review showed that miners like F2Pool already included non-standard transactions that exceeded the OP_Return limit.

The Op_return argument also occurs in a different environment than the original arbitrary data discussion. This is what corporate profits are putting pressure on developers to allow more on-chain data storage. The reason for this is that storing such data will enable the development of Bitcoin-based systems such as Layer 2 networks.