Bitcoin Core v30 Launches with Major Technical Upgrades and Community Debates

The release of Bitcoin Core v30 has ignited fresh debate within the Bitcoin community, following a major update that expands the amount of non-financial data that can be stored on the network.

Published over the weekend, Bitcoin Core’s latest version introduces several technical improvements aimed at enhancing node performance, security, and privacy. Among them is the addition of optional encrypted connections between nodes, designed to strengthen user anonymity. However, it’s the increase in the OP_RETURN data limit, from 80 bytes to 100,000 bytes, that has drawn the most controversy.

According to the developers, the change allows for more data-rich applications to be built directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. The update also marks the end of support for versions 27.x and earlier, which will no longer receive security patches or maintenance updates.

A Divisive Shift

Supporters argue the expanded data limit opens new doors for developers building decentralized apps and smart contract-like functionality on Bitcoin — capabilities more commonly associated with networks like Ethereum.

“I plan to use all of the additional OP_RETURN space and make Bitcoin more like Ethereum, except better,” said Alex Bergeron, ecosystem lead at Ark Labs, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Other prominent voices in the community, such as Jameson Lopp of CasaHODL and Pavol Rusnak of Satoshi Labs, have welcomed the new release, citing Bitcoin Core’s strong developer base and rigorous code reviews.

But critics fear the update could undermine Bitcoin’s original purpose as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. They warn it could lead to blockchain bloat, higher node costs, and even potential legal issues for node operators who inadvertently store prohibited data.

Echoes of the 2017 Blocksize Wars

The controversy has revived memories of Bitcoin’s 2017 blocksize wars, which ultimately resulted in the Bitcoin Cash hard fork. While the new OP_RETURN policy does not alter the network’s consensus rules, some see it as a slippery slope toward similar ideological divides.

Veteran cryptographer Nick Szabo advised users to avoid the latest update, urging them to temporarily switch to Knots, an alternative node implementation that maintains the traditional 80-byte data cap. “Run Knots. I strongly recommend not upgrading to Core v30,” Szabo wrote last week.

Earlier this month, Szabo also warned that the change could expose node operators to criminal liability if they end up hosting illegal data without the ability to remove it.

Growing Use of Alternative Nodes

Data from BitRef indicates that as of this week, over 5,100 Bitcoin Knots nodes are active, roughly 21% of all nodes on the network, suggesting a sizable portion of operators are already choosing the more restrictive software.

Although Knots creator Luke Dashjr has not publicly commented since the new version went live, he has previously expressed skepticism toward Bitcoin Core’s recent direction, particularly around its growing tolerance for non-transactional data.