Bitcoin

Let’s talk a bit about OP_RETURN.

First: what is it?

It’s an opcode that allows arbitrary data to be stored in a transaction in a way that makes it unspendable.

Simply put: you can use it to embed things like a message, a hash, or even an image in Bitcoin.

In Bitcoin, by consensus, there are no restrictions on OP_RETURN. These are fully valid transactions under the protocol. What blocks them today is a local policy in Bitcoin Core, not the protocol itself.

So this proposal isn’t a philosophical shift — it’s an alignment between Core's standardness rules and the consensus rules.

Calling it a “cultural change” ignores that the protocol already allows it.

What exists today is a technical and policy inconsistency.

Whether we like “spam” or not (meaning anything not strictly monetary), the reality is that it exists and will continue to exist.

This proposal simply provides a cleaner path for it to happen.

It doesn’t enable it — it’s already enabled.

Bitcoin developers plan OP_RETURN removal in next release

Bitcoin developers plan OP_RETURN removal in next release

https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2025/05/06/bitcoin-developers-plan-op_return-removal-in-next-release