Bitcoin, Explained 61: OP_RETURN
In this episode of Bitcoin, Explained, hosts Aaron van Wirdum and Sjors Provoost discuss OP_RETURN and what some have called the “OP_RETURN wars”. More specifically, they discuss a blog post by BitMEX research titled: “The OP_Return Wars of 2014 – Dapps Vs Bitcoin Transactions”.
Aaron and Sjors start off by explaining that OP_RETURN is an op code (a piece of code for Bitcoin transactions) that will render invalid any transaction that includes it in an input. This means that outputs that include OP_RETURN are unspendeable, which in turn means that Bitcoin nodes can safely remove such UTXOs from their UTXO set, which safes on storage.
Early in Bitcoin’s years, people started using Bitcoin for more than just transactions. As one example given by Sjors, someone uploaded the entire Bitcoin white paper onto the blockchain. The BitMEX blog meanwhile explains that Layer Two protocols like Counterparty were rolling out decentralized applications on the blockchain. This type of non-transaction data was initially embedded in multisig transactions, but this meant that all Bitcoin nodes had to download, process and store this data forever, which comes at a cost.
To mitigate this problem, Aaron and Sjors explain, Bitcoin developers in 2014 agreed to let nodes process and forward transactions with OP_RETURN outputs. These transactions would be better for uploading data, since their outputs can be removed form the UTXO set.
The “OP_RETURN wars” refer to a debate between Bitcoin developers and (most notably) Counterparty developers over the maximum size of such transactions. Sjors explains why the maximum of 40 bytes was initially choses, why this was later increased to 80 bytes, and how these considerations have changed over time.
BitMEX’ blog post: https://blog.bitmex.com/dapps-or-only-bitcoin-transactions-the-2014-debate/
Sjors’ book mentioned in the episode: https://www.btcwip.com/
Evan Kaloudis tells P & Q what hyperbitcoinization means to him.
Lower your time preference and lock-in your BITCOIN 2023 conference tickets today! Use the code BMLIVE for a 10% Discount!
https://b.tc/conference/2023
Use promocode: BMLIVE for 10% off everything in our store!
https://store.bitcoinmagazine.com/
#bitcoin #bitcoinmagazine #hyperbitcoinization #money #whatismoney #whatisbitcoin #crypto #cryptocurrencies #globalmarkets #bitcoinexplained
-
42:38
Bitcoin Magazine
1 year agoBitcoin, Explained 68: RBF In Bitcoin Core 24.0
2941 -
1:39:24
The Survival Podcast with Jack Spirko
10 months agoYour Bitcoin Questions Answered - Epi-3348
173 -
42:38
DeFiCryptoUniversity
1 year agoBitcoin, Explained 68: RBF In Bitcoin Core 24.0
12 -
3:17
Fun2Facts
3 years agoWhat is Bitcoin? | Bitcoin Explained Simply
53 -
1:39:23
The Survival Podcast with Jack Spirko
10 months agoYour Bitcoin Questions Answered - Epi-3348
8652 -
9:40
The Money Channel 1
1 year agoBitcoin Explained: What is Bitcoin and How it Works ? [2022]
26 -
5:41
marksteve_09
10 months agoBitcoin explained
14 -
41:31
DeFiCryptoUniversity
1 year agoBitcoin, Explained 65: Bitcoin Core 24.0
14 -
0:30
Matt Kohrs
5 months agoThe Return of Bitcoin?
1.91K -
5:11
MentorMinutes
1 year agoWhat Is Bitcoin: Explained in Simple English.
3