Bitcoin Core developers encountered mixed responses from the Bitcoin community with the launch of their v30 update, which introduced a variety of improvements related to node architecture, performance, and security.
Key enhancements in Bitcoin Core 30.0 include the addition of optional encrypted connections between nodes for improved privacy and an increase in the OP_RETURN data limit from 80 to 100,000 bytes, allowing for a far greater volume of non-financial data to be incorporated into Bitcoin transactions.
“With this major version release, versions 27.x and older have reached their ‘End of Life’ and will stop receiving updates,” stated Sunday’s announcement.
Though the update also addressed bug fixes, performance enhancements, and modifications to fee rates, the most contentious issue within the community is the increased OP_RETURN limit.
This significant change in the data capacity fosters the development of more intricate and data-intensive decentralized applications on the network, while frustrating Bitcoin purists who maintain that the network should solely serve financial transactions.
New blocksize wars
While not a protocol modification, the ongoing discussion recalls the block size wars of 2017, which eventually resulted in a hard fork, creating Bitcoin Cash.
Some view the update positively, including Ark Labs Ecosystem Lead Alex Bergeron, who expressed via X on Friday that he plans “to utilize all of the additional OP_RETURN space and WILL use it to transform Bitcoin into something akin to Ethereum, but better.”
Meanwhile, Satoshi Labs co-founder Pavol Rusnak noted yesterday that he is choosing Bitcoin Core v30, praising the “great development team, peer-reviewed code,” and “sane engineering decisions.”
Conversely, others express concerns, claiming it contradicts Bitcoin’s foundational principles as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system and may lead to blockchain bloating, higher node maintenance costs, and legal ramifications.
A workaround some node operators have embraced is the alternative node software termed “knots,” enabling them to impose strict data size limits, like 80 bytes, on transactions.
“As a (hopefully) temporary solution, use Knots. I strongly advise against upgrading to Core v30,” stated cryptography pioneer Nick Szabo via X last week.
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Earlier this month, Szabo raised red flags regarding the legal risks of the data limit increase, warning that node operators could inadvertently host “illegal data.”
“Without implementing safeguards that allow archival node operators to non-disruptively remove illegal content for which they could be held criminally liable,” he posted on X on Oct. 2.
The inventor of knots, Luke Dashjr, has yet to comment on the update since its launch; however, he has voiced concerns regarding the recent Bitcoin Core update.
Data indicates that a notable portion of node operators are using Knots software, with statistics from BitRef showing there are currently 5,114 Knots nodes, which comprises 21.48% of all Bitcoin nodes.
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