Nick Szabo joins fray as controversial Bitcoin Core update nears release
Nick Szabo, the cypherpunk and inventor of Bit Gold, has re-entered the conversation on X after five years, adding his perspective to the ongoing debate surrounding the Bitcoin Core v30 update. This new release candidate, v30.0rc2, which is slated to roll out in October, introduces significant changes, including a new wallet format and the controversial expansion of the OP_RETURN opcode. The update raises the data limit from 80 bytes to potentially nearly 4 megabytes per transaction, sparking contention among Bitcoin purists and maximalists. Purists argue that the network should focus solely on financial transactions to avoid bloating the blockchain, while maximalists assert that users should utilize block space as they see fit, with market forces regulating usage. Szabo expressed concern that increasing OP_RETURN allowances could escalate legal risks, as nodes might be held accountable for harmful data. He noted that while there are alternative methods to hide data, more visible standard formats could incur greater legal risks. Bitcoin Core aims to deploy this update after resolving ongoing testing and debates among developers.
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