Bitcoin Developers Plan OP_RETURN Removal in Next Release

The debate over Bitcoin's OP_RETURN heats up, as developers of Bitcoin Core – the most popular node software – said they plan to scrap OP_RETURN entirely in the next release.The OP_RETURN limit is an 80-byte cap on the amount of arbitrary data that can be embedded in a Bitcoin transaction using a special, unspendable output field.“Large-data inscriptions are happening regardless and can be done in more or less abusive ways,” said Core contributor and Engineer at Blockstream Greg Sanders, known as ‘instagibbs,’ in a post on Github announcing the removal. “The cap merely channels them into more opaque forms that cause damage to the network source: https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2025/05/06/bitcoin-developers-plan-op_return-removal-in-next-release