When Michael Saylor speaks, Bitcoiners often listen. But on Thursday, they couldn’t seem to agree on whether Strategy’s co-founder and executive chairman meant to weigh in on a controversial change to Bitcoin’s codebase that’s split the community in recent months.
On Wednesday, Saylor reposted a stylized video on X of him speaking on The Peter McCormack Show. The episode, which debuted over a year ago, showcased his thoughts on how changes to Bitcoin’s protocol could potentially lead to unintended and negative consequences.
The 10-minute clip that Saylor reposted included a call to action at the very end, which Saylor has never made publicly himself. The video prompted users to “Run Knots,” a form of software for Bitcoin node operators flouting changes set for its prevailing alternative.
Bitcoin Core currently accounts for 70% of machines that validate Bitcoin transactions, according to data from Clark Moody Bitcoin. And Bitcoin Core v30, which is scheduled to be released next month, is expected to modify how a so-called Bitcoin opcode can be used. Following months of debate, Bitcoin Core developers committed to the change in June.
Bitcoin opcodes are predefined functions that form the bedrock of Bitcoin’s codebase, and OP_RETURN allows people to store data in transactions. In Bitcoin Core v30, the amount of data that can be stored through OP_RETURN is set to increase to 100,000 bytes from 80 bytes.
Advocates argue that the shift will unlock more complex applications on Bitcoin, while making current workarounds obsolete. Critics argue that it could result in a more congested network, or even incentivize the storage of problematic or illegal conflict on Bitcoin’s network.
Bitcoin Knots’ supporters immediately portrayed Saylor’s social media activity as evidence of his support, but Saylor has yet to clarify his stance, and some doubt the message was intentional.
In some ways, the debate around OP_RETURN echoes controversy surrounding Ordinals. As the NFT-like assets gained (temporary) popularity in 2023, some cheered the development as innovative, while others argued that Bitcoin should stick to its monetary focus.
“If you believe the government should do the minimum to control your life, you [should] believe that the protocol should do the minimum,” Saylor said in the video that he reposted on Wednesday.
At a gathering of Bitcoin-buying firms in New York earlier this month, Saylor made comments echoing that conservative sentiment, according to a video posted on X by an account that goes by Señor 11s around a week ago.
“I think this debate we see right now over OP_RETURN limits, this is actually a second-order or maybe even a third-order change,” Saylor said. “But the reaction of the community, which is to reject it, an inflammatory reaction, I thought was a healthy response.”
To be sure, Saylor hasn’t publicly come out in favor of Bitcoin Core or Bitcoin knots. In 2023, Saylor told Decrypt that the discussion surrounding Ordinals was important because it could help miners be successful over the long term or bolster Bitcoin’s adoption.
On Wednesday, several accounts beckoned for clarification from Saylor on X, raising questions as to whether the influential CEO watched the clip he reposted to the end. The pro-Knots message is shown for exactly three seconds.
Decrypt has reached out to Strategy for comment.
The CEO of a prominent financial services firm, who requested anonymity to speak about the controversy, told Decrypt that he is certain Saylor would not have reposted the clip had he known that there was a pro-Knots message included at the end of the clip.
“He would never weigh in on something like that,” they said, arguing that Saylor is in a bind now because taking the post down would also make it look like he’s taking a side.
Even if Saylor reposted a pro-Knots message unintentionally, the individual said one thing seems certain: “The sides keep getting more and more vicious.”
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