Bitcoin Core developers have released the second test version of the controversial Bitcoin Core v30 update, which is set to introduce a new wallet format and non-monetary data integration features in October.
The Bitcoin Core project announced on Sunday that the new candidate version (v30.0rc20) is available for testing and defined it as "a new significant release."
This update will phase out the outdated traditional wallet infrastructure and introduce a new simplified command system, but the main point of contention lies in the policy changes related to the OP_RETURN opcode, which allows arbitrary data to be embedded in transactions.
The data limit expansion will raise the default cap from 80 bytes to virtually unlimited, with each transaction output potentially reaching nearly 4 megabytes.
However, Bitcoin purists argue that the network should only be used for financial transactions, not data storage.
They point out that widespread use of OP_RETURN will lead to permanent blockchain bloat, as every Bitcoin node must store this data, increasing costs. This could also result in the network being flooded with spam and malware.
Bitcoin maximalists, on the other hand, believe that if users pay fees, they should be able to use block space as they wish, and market forces will naturally limit malicious usage through fees.
Although the specific date for the update remains uncertain due to ongoing testing and heated debates among developers, Bitcoin Core still supports the update, which is expected to be deployed around late October.
Bitcoin pioneer Nick Szabo ended nearly five years of silence by returning to the X platform on Sunday and frequently posting his views on this debate.
He stated that network fees, referred to by developers as "garbage filters," protect miners but do not provide sufficient deterrents to protect full nodes.
He also noted, "This is almost everywhere a pending legal issue," implying that nodes may need to bear legal responsibility for harmful data stored on the blockchain.
Cryptocurrency litigation attorney Joe Carlasare cited a court case ruling that if node operators have no knowledge or control over the data, they are not liable.
Szabo mentioned that one argument suggests data can be hidden in other ways, but OPRETURN data is trimmable. "This means allowing more data to be stored on OPRETURN may reduce legal risks."
However, he pointed out a counterargument—that illegal content existing in standard formats is "easier to impress lawyers, judges, and juries because it can be easily viewed by standard software, thus posing greater legal risks compared to data that is fragmented or hidden and requires specialized software to reconstruct."
Some believe that cypherpunk Szabo is the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto; however, he has repeatedly denied this claim. Szabo joined Samson Mow's Bitcoin infrastructure company Jan3 as Chief Scientist in January this year.
Related: Analyst: Bitcoin (BTC) performance is expected to see a significant pullback before reaching new highs like Nvidia.
Original article: “Controversial Bitcoin Core Update Set to Release as Nick Szabo Joins Debate”
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