The conflict between Core and Knots. Bitcoin Core 30.0 unleashes exodus towards Knots for change in op_return

By Canuto

Bitcoin faces a new internal shock for a technical change in its protocol that could redefine its original purpose.

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• Bitcoin Core proposes to expand the op_return data limit at 1 kb.
• Bitcoin Knots rejects the measure and gains nodes in protest.
• The dispute reflects tensions between innovation and monetary purity.

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In the world of Bitcoin, where decentralization is law, a debate has opened a crack between developers and nodes. The cause: a change proposed in version 30.0 of Bitcoin Core, scheduled for October 2025, which would increase the op_return data limit of 80 bytes to 1 kilobyte.

The modification, although technical, has unleashed a philosophical storm about the future of the network. While Bitcoin Core defends change as a necessary modernization, Bitcoin Knots – an alternative version maintained by Luke Dashjr – considers it a threat to the monetary character of the system.

Bitcoin Core: modernization and openness to new uses

Bitcoin Core, the dominant implementation that controls about 80 % of the nodes, seeks to eliminate a restriction imposed in 2014. According to their maintainers, including Antoine Poinstot and Gloria Zhao, the increase does not alter the rules of consensus, but only transaction transmission policies.

They argue that the current limit was obsolete with the evolution of legitimate uses such as ordinals, inscriptions and applications that store verifiable metadata. “It is an endless game between developers and creative users,” said Zhao, defending that less restrictions would reduce technical complexity.

The defenders of change, such as Adam Back, Blockstream CEO, argue that politics does not encourage the “spam”, since miners prioritize transactions with greater commissions. For them, Bitcoin must continue to be a neutral and flexible system, without paternalistic filters that limit innovation.

Bitcoin Knots: preserve purity and avoid regulatory risks

From the other side, Luke Dashjr and the Bitcoin Knots community consider the modification of an error of principles. Knots applies stricter policies, filtering by default the non -financial data to maintain block space focused on monetary transactions.

“Bitcoin was not designed as an arbitrary data deposit,” said Dashjr, who fears that the expansion of op_return increases rates, congestion the network and attract adverse regulatory attention. For many nodes, maintaining a more conservative technical profile is a way to protect real decentralization against the growth of “digital noise.”

The adoption of Knots has grown quickly: less than 400 nodes at the beginning of 2025 to more than 20 % of the current network. Among its supporters are Maximalism defenders such as Samson Mow and figures linked to the narrative of “hard money”, who promote the version as a more “anti -infragile” bitcoin.

A debate that exposes Bitcoin’s soul

The controversy has been extended by social networks and influential podcasts such as Whatcoin Did Whatcoin and The Investors Podcast. In X, threads on “Core vs Knots” accumulate millions of visualizations. Many nodes have migrated to Knots as a sign of protest, although without breaking the compatibility of the network.

Knots’ critics call him “poorly maintained” and dominated by unilateral decisions of Dashjr, while his defenders see it as a necessary counterweight to the concentration of technical power in Core. Jonas Schnelli, exmanteter of Core, warned that, although there are no mature alternatives, the diversity of implementations could reinforce ecosystem resilience.

“Core seeks flexibility; Knots, purity. Users choose, and that is what makes Bitcoin,” summarized an anonymous podcast in a recent episode.

Between innovation and conservation

Days of the official launch of Bitcoin Core V30.0, the tension between both visions symbolizes the maturity of the network. There is no fracture or hard fork on the horizon, but a clear message: Bitcoin continues to evolve through the decentralized consensus of its participants.

Op_return dispute is not just a technical issue. It represents an existential question about what Bitcoin should be: Does a decentralized database for the digital era or incorruptible digital money?

In that balance, each node votes with its software.

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