This change echoes past debates from the 2017 Blocksize Wars, emphasizing the importance of community consensus in protocol updates.

Leaked messages suggested Luke Dashjr might consider a hard fork to counteract the data limit increase, but he denied planning any such action, criticizing the change.

Major updates include lowering default transaction fees, with relay fees as low as 0.1 sat/vB, and miner inclusion fees at 0.001 sat/vB.

The development opens new opportunities for applications like metadata storage, inscriptions, and integration into sectors such as crypto payroll and compliance.

After backlash, developers restored user control over OP_RETURN data limits, allowing manual adjustments, and clarified that the change affects mempool policy without altering Bitcoin’s consensus rules.

While some see the larger OP_RETURN capacity as enabling complex decentralized applications similar to Ethereum, purists worry it could lead to blockchain bloat and higher operational costs.

This update echoes past debates, such as the 2017 block size wars, highlighting ongoing tensions over Bitcoin’s scalability and purpose.

Overall, the OP_RETURN change is a pivotal moment that demands careful governance to balance innovation with the preservation of Bitcoin’s core principles and community consensus.

Supporters argue that increased data capacity can foster innovative decentralized applications and expand Bitcoin’s ecosystem.

Some believe the larger capacity will enable Bitcoin to support more complex applications similar to Ethereum.

Controversy surrounds the change, with critics fearing it could enable illegal or malicious content hosting, leading to legal issues for node operators.

The update marks the end of support for versions 27.x and older, emphasizing the shift to the new version.

Historically, limitations on block size led to Layer 2 solutions like Lightning; the OP_RETURN change could inspire similar innovations.

Bitcoin Core v30.0 introduces significant node-related architecture, performance, and security updates, including improved performance, bug fixes, and optional encrypted connections.

The release marks a major upgrade, enhancing network performance and security.

Bitcoin Core v30 was officially released, bringing performance improvements and architecture updates.

The Knots community, led by Luke Dashjr, opposes the change, arguing Bitcoin should focus on money transfer and expressing concerns about potential misuse of increased data limits.

Critics like Nick Szabo warn about legal risks and increased node operation costs, advocating for strict data size enforcement as a temporary measure.

The change aims to enable more complex applications, sparking debate within the community.

This update allows for new use cases such as identity management, smart contracts, and decentralized applications, broadening Bitcoin’s functionality.

The community is polarized, with some fearing it could undermine Bitcoin’s integrity, while others see it as necessary for innovation.

Critics worry that the expansion could undermine Bitcoin’s role as a peer-to-peer cash system, risking blockchain bloat and higher operational costs.

Szabo raised concerns about illegal data hosting, emphasizing the need for safeguards.

Legal risks are heightened for node operators, as larger embedded data could include illegal content like CSAM, exposing them to liability.

The change opens opportunities for decentralized finance, improved on-chain regulatory compliance, and increased transparency, but also raises concerns about network health and legal implications.

Community reactions are mixed, with purists opposing the change due to fears of blockchain bloat, legal issues, and deviation from Bitcoin's original purpose as a peer-to-peer cash system.

This development raises fundamental questions about Bitcoin’s core identity, with critics worried that broader data applications might dilute its primary function.

The update also includes fixing five low-severity bugs, with detailed bug fix information to be released soon, and marks Bitcoin Core v27.x as End of Life.

Legal concerns persist regarding hosting illegal data and increased node operation costs, leading some experts to advise against upgrading to v30.

Graphical improvements include support for dark mode on Windows, a switch from Qt5 to Qt6, and Metal graphics support on macOS for smoother performance.

Many node operators are already using alternative software like 'knots' to enforce data size limits, with over 21% of nodes running Knots to mitigate risks associated with the increased OP_RETURN capacity.

The update introduces TRUC transactions to prevent conflicts during confirmation and a new 'bitcoin' command to streamline node and miner interactions.

Bitcoin Core v30 no longer supports BDB wallets, requiring users to migrate to descriptor wallets, and removes commands like importwallet and dumpwallet.

Supporters see the larger data capacity as a way to foster innovative applications, while critics warn it could violate Bitcoin’s principles and facilitate illegal data hosting.

Bitcoin Core v30 has dramatically increased the OP_RETURN data limit from 80 bytes to 100,000 bytes, enabling embedding of larger non-financial data in transactions, which has sparked significant controversy.

However, without mechanisms to remove illegal content, node operators face legal risks, potentially discouraging participation and causing community fractures.

Notable critics like Luke Dashjr have voiced opposition, criticizing the update, although he has not publicly commented since its release.

This update allows users to attach larger data such as hashes, certificates, or art metadata, and supports multiple outputs, expanding Bitcoin's potential applications.

The increase in data capacity raises concerns about blockchain bloat, network inefficiency, and spam attacks, which could threaten network stability.