According to PANews, the Bitcoin Core development team is preparing a significant update in the upcoming Core 30 release, expected in October. The update will notably increase the OP_RETURN data carrier limit from 80 bytes to nearly 4MB.
This change represents a win for reformist developers, led by Antoine Poinsot, over conservative voices like Luke Dashjr, who have long opposed expanding OP_RETURN capacity. The debate has centered around whether Bitcoin should strictly serve as a value transfer network or expand to accommodate more diverse on-chain data use cases.
While node operators will still have the option to configure smaller limits manually, analysts believe most nodes are likely to stick with the new default. Critics argue the increase risks turning Bitcoin into a general-purpose data storage layer, potentially straying from its original purpose. Reformists counter that a controlled expansion of OP_RETURN functionality can improve utility without compromising core principles. As part of a compromise, parameters will remain adjustable by node operators.
Although the change is expected to influence the on-chain data storage landscape, it will not affect Bitcoin's fundamental transaction verification processes.