GLACA on Nostr: Thanks for the thoughtful response—really appreciated. You’re right to ask about ...

Thanks for the thoughtful response—really appreciated.

You’re right to ask about the risk of bloating the Bitcoin ledger, but here’s the key:
Bitcoin already has a 4MB block weight limit, so even if OP_RETURN filters are removed, you can’t exceed that cap. There’s no risk of “infinite” data being added—only how that blockspace is used changes.

The current OP_RETURN cap (83 bytes) is a relay policy, not a consensus rule. Removing it doesn’t increase total block size—it just gives flexibility within the 4MB limit. And miners are already including larger data through other means, like Taproot witness space.

As for node operation—pruned nodes let you run securely without storing the full chain. And importantly, OP_RETURN data doesn’t touch the UTXO set, which is what really affects node resource requirements.

So yes, Bitcoin will grow over time, as it always has—but this change doesn’t break anything. It just removes an outdated bottleneck.

Appreciate the open dialogue—this is exactly how good protocol discussions happen.