There's a storm brewing inside Bitcoin (BTC) Developer Communitythe ecosystem is at risk of collapse for the first time in almost a decade. A technical dispute over the use of Bitcoin's OP_RETURN function has escalated into a full-blown ideological clash that could eventually lead to a hard fork. This conflict challenges the core of BTC's purpose and pits those who want to maintain BTC's identity against each other. pure monetary system I disagree with those who see it as the basis for broader innovation.
Bitcoin OP_RETURN controversy
The recent controversy is OP_RETURN opcodedata can be embedded in Bitcoin transactions. bitcoin core v30A network software update released earlier this year increased the OP_RETURN limit from 80 bytes to 100,000 bytes. The change sparked a backlash among developers and community members concerned that it could turn the network into a storage layer for arbitrary data. Illegal or harmful content child sexual abuse material (CSAM), etc.
In response, Bitcoin developer Dason Ohm said, introduced BIP-444, temporarily Restrict addition of arbitrary data Move to blockchain at consensus level. This effort aims to simplify the codebase and reduce the risk of embedding illegal material while maintaining its functionality as a currency network.
Ohm stressed on GitHub that the growing popularity of Bitcoin and widespread adoption of Bitcoin Core v30 necessitates moving forward with the proposal that was originally discussed. Veteran developer Luke Dashjr. He explained that both proactive and reactive deployment models are in development and testing is still ongoing.
Falk proposal created tension within the community. Proponents point out that some jurisdictions impose stiff penalties for hosting illegal content and argue that the OP_RETURN restriction is essential to protect node operators from potential legal prosecution. But critics argue that such restrictions are contradictory. Bitcoin’s ethos of resisting censorship and neutrality.
Members within the GitHub group argue that Bitcoin should not be a content management system, and that limiting arbitrary data storage preserves Bitcoin's role. decentralized money. Some warn that a focus on legality could lead to government influence and weaken its core principles. Ohm countered that while the network itself remains permissionless, individuals need to consider the real-world implications of running nodes that may store prohibited data.
The looming threat of hard forks
As the controversy and infighting surrounding OP_RETURN intensifies, developers are starting to openly speculate that BIP-444 is the problem. suggestion Failure to reach an agreement could ultimately lead to a hard fork.
Prominent Bitcoin developers warn that the stakes are very high. dash junior is called It warns that the current OP_RETURN extension is “utter madness” and could turn the network into a data dump rather than a financial protocol. Jason Hughes, vice president of development and engineering at Ocean Mining, another developer, said: accused Proponents of the argument pushing Bitcoin toward “worthless altcoins” said that hard fork changes could undermine Bitcoin’s neutrality. mark Death of a cryptocurrency pioneer.
People like Bitcoin engineer Peter Todd noticed At the beginning of this year, if developers really want Suppress on-chain spam and maintain efficiencycould implement a soft fork and require that every byte string in a transaction represents a valid hash or public key. Such an approach increases the cost of voluntary data exposure, but maintains backward compatibility.
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