The OP_RETURN War: Who Controls Bitcoin w/ Bitcoin Mechanic

Bitcoin Mechanic is the Chief Boiling Officer at OCEAN. In this episode, we dive deep into the battle over OP_RETURN and Bitcoin node policy. Mechanic explains why arbitrary data like inscriptions and JPEGs represent an attack vector, how Core developers have responded, and why he believes filters are essential to protecting Bitcoin’s monetary use case. We also cover the risks of miner centralisation, the tension between Bitcoin’s ideological roots and its current developer politics, and what’s really at stake in the “OP_RETURN war.” Follow: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Mechanic: https://x.com/GrassFedBitcoin THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: IREN: https://www.iren.com/ RIVER: https://river.com/wbd ANCHORWATCH: https://www.anchorwatch.com/ LEDGER: https://www.ledger.com/ CASA: https://casa.io/

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This episode was published on May 14, 2025.

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