Author: CoinDesk

Bitcoin developers are clashing over relaxing OP_RETURN limits. This technical debate about arbitrary data on Bitcoin has sparked divisions about what constitutes "spam" and revealed tensions between Bitcoin Core devs and those seeking a "purer" Bitcoin experience.

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What started as a technical proposal has exploded into community division, with accusations of "destroying Bitcoin" flying around. The hosts break down what OP_RETURN is, why some devs want to increase its size limit, and why others view it as enabling "spam" on the blockchain. At its core, this fight reveals deeper tensions about who controls Bitcoin's future and what the network should be used for.

Notes:

- OP_RETURN limit currently set at 83 bytes

- Proposal would increase limit to ~1 megabyte

- 30-45% of Bitcoin transactions are "non-financial"

- Bitcoin Knots node usage has grown to 7-8%

- Out-of-band transactions bypass node relay

- Core devs facing diminished community trust

Timestamps:

00:00:00:00 Start

00:00:36:16 Why's everyone so mad?

00:02:04:14 Claim your bias

00:04:00:03 The backstory

00:08:27:09 Changing the OP_RETRUN limit

00:11:24:06 Post to relax the limit

00:15:39:23 Out of Band payment

00:17:39:06 Standard vs valid consensus

00:19:52:29 What is spam?

00:28:41:05 Arch Network

00:29:13:14 Cons of increasing the limit

00:32:34:25 That's too "woke" bro!

00:35:56:27 Knots

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Host Christine Lee breaks down the latest news in the crypto industry as American Robert Prevost became pope, beating crypto prediction market odds.

American Robert Prevost didn't think he would become pope, and neither did crypto prediction markets. Plus, Meta re-joins the stablecoin race and Celsius' Alex Mashinsky lands 12 years in prison. CoinDesk's Christine Lee presents "CoinDesk Daily."

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This episode was hosted by Christine Lee. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Christine Lee and edited by Victor Chen.

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The GPU financing market could be on the cusp of a transformation.

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Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Bitcoin’s back above $100k and hashrate is rebounding above 900 EH/s with it. In this week's news roundup, Kelly Greer from Crucible Capital joins to explain trends in the GPU financing and hosting markets – and what ASIC market cycles can tell us about where they might be going. We also cover Alpha's IPO valuation, the Digital Energy Council's push against tariffs on ASIC miners, and how Bitfarms is joining other miners in halting hash expansion to focus on HPC and AI infrastructure builds.

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# Notes:

- Network hash rate rebounding to ~900 exahashes

- GPU rental prices down to $1.45-2.10 per hour

- Alpha IPO valued at $215-300 million

- Tariffs on ASICs could reach 24-36%

- BitFarms halting hash expansion for HPC/AI focus

- Trump admin signals support but tariffs persist

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

02:33 Difficulty Report Presented By Luxor

04:42 GPU rental, financing landscape is shifting

18:00 Antalpha valuation

23:55 ASIC tariff exclusion

29:00 Bitfarms pauses mining to focus on AI

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Host Christine Lee breaks down the latest news in the crypto industry as bitcoin soared over $100,000 again.

Bitcoin soared over $100,000 again Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom. Plus, Arizona became the second U.S. state to sign a crypto reserve bill into law and the OCC is further relaxed rules to allow banks offer crypto services. CoinDesk's Christine Lee hosts "CoinDesk Daily."

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This episode was hosted by Christine Lee. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Christine Lee and edited by Victor Chen.

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The latest price moves and insights with Christine Lee and Arthur Hayes.

To get the show every day, follow the podcast here.

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes explains how bitcoin will reach $1 million by 2028, the likely outcome of U.S. and China trade talks, and the Federal Reserve’s irrelevance. Plus, find out what's in his portfolio, whether alt season will make a comeback and how he received a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Arthur:

X - https://x.com/cryptohayes

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthur-hayes-b493b42/

IG - https://www.instagram.com/cryptohayes/ [instagram.com]

Maelstrom:

X - https://x.com/MaelstromFund

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/maelstromfund

This content should not be construed or relied upon as investment advice. It is for entertainment and general information purposes.

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This episode was hosted by Christine Lee.

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Host Christine Lee breaks down the latest news in the crypto industry as optimism grows for a potential U.S.-China trade deal.

Bitcoin surging to about $97,000 along with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 as optimism grows for a potential U.S.-China trade deal as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to meet Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend. Plus, Ethereum's Pectra upgrade goes live and the first U.S. crypto reserve is signed into law in New Hampshire. CoinDesk's Christine Lee hosts "CoinDesk Daily."

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This episode was hosted by Christine Lee. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Christine Lee and edited by Victor Chen.

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Udi Wertheimer discusses Bitcoin Core's controversial OP_RETURN changes, mounting community backlash, and why Core developers are losing social capital with Bitcoiners over technical decisions they can't properly communicate.

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Udi Wertheimer, co-founder of the Taproot Wizards and famous Bitcoin provocateur, joins us to talk about the explosive OP_RETURN debate dividing the Bitcoin community. We dive deep into why Bitcoin Core developers are facing unprecedented backlash, how they've lost touch with newer Bitcoiners, and what Greg Maxwell's sudden reappearance signals about Core's weakening position. Udi offers surprising insights on both sides and proposes solutions for rebuilding trust between developers and the community.

Follow our guests: @udiwertheimer

**Notes:**

• OP_RETURN controversy spans over a decade

• Greg Maxwell returns after years of silence

• Core devs disconnected from 5+ year Bitcoiners

• ~50 readers engage with Bitcoin OpTech weekly

• 6-month delay suggested for PR merge

• JPEGs benefit from controversy attention

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

03:08 OP_RETURN Debate Summary

10:21 SPAM on Bitcoin

17:17 Is this a Core blunder?

27:26 How SHOULD Core do?

34:42 What if Core doesn't communicate better?

37:38 What does a pleb do?

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👉 Brought to you by Arch Network! Arch brings the speed of Solana & the best of crypto UX to Bitcoin. Tap into the rich app ecosystem on Arch & try out the testnet while you’re still early! Visit arch.network to learn more.

-

👋Bitcoin Season 2 is produced Blockspace Media, Bitcoin’s first B2B publication in Bitcoin. Follow us on Twitter and check out our newsletter for the best information in Bitcoin mining, Ordinals and tech!

Enjoy the show? Check out our website and newsletter by clicking here.

Questions or want to sponsor? hello@blockspace.media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The latest price moves and insights with Jennifer Sanasie and Bitpanda Deputy CEO Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad.

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Bitpanda Deputy CEO Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad joins CoinDesk to discuss the state of crypto in Europe under the impact from previous ECB rate cut decisions and the MiCA regulatory framework. Plus, he weighs in on Bitpanda's recent partnership with FC Basel 1893 and the intersection between sports and crypto.

This content should not be construed or relied upon as investment advice. It is for entertainment and general information purposes.

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This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “Markets Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and edited by Victor Chen.

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Host Christine Lee breaks down the latest news in the crypto industry as traders brace for this week's Fed rate decision.

Traders brace for this week's Fed rate decision, while a weakening dollar could boost bitcoin. Plus Senate Democrats stall on stablecoin legislation amid President Trump's financial ties to crypto. CoinDesk's Christine Lee hosts "CoinDesk Daily."

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This episode was hosted by Christine Lee. “CoinDesk Daily” is produced by Christine Lee and edited by Victor Chen.

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Bitcoin mining is thriving in Iran – but mostly in the shadows.

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You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 15,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com

Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Masih Alavi, CEO of ViraMiner, joins us to discuss an overlooked mecca for bitcoin mining: Iran. He estimates that miners in the country operate with just 5 MW of legal, while 2 GW of mining activity hums away in the shadows of basements, offices, and even jewelry stores. Plus, Alavi discusses how Iranian citizens use outdated mining equipment to evade sanctions, convert crypto to USD, and survive capital controls from within and sanctions from without. Alavi explains why the government's hardline stance and tax code pushes miners underground and the ingenious methods Iranians use to hide their operations from authorities.

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# Notes:

- Only 5MW legal mining vs. 2GW illegal in Iran

- Outdated S9 miners still profitable in Iran

- Illegal miners caught by authorities

- High tariffs push miners to operate illegally

- 18 million Iranians own crypto assets

- Iran Bitcoin hashrate dropped 10-15% during protests

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

01:47 Mashi background

07:03 Mining ETH

07:37 ViraMiners

08:11 BTC mining in Iran

10:09 Illegal mining operations

13:33 Mining with older hardware

14:14 Electrical tariffs

17:49 Industrial scale mining

21:16 Exchanges or under the table

30:21 Obtaining hardware

32:41 Legal routes for hardware?

38:52 IP logging with pools

42:41 Hashrate waiting to come online

👉 Fractal Bitcoin, Reduces up to 50% of your pool fee. No new hardware, no extra energy.

And it’s easy. FB rewards go straight to your existing Bitcoin wallet address. Over 50% of Bitcoin’s hashpower is already merge mining Fractal. Get more from the same resources — start on Fractal today!

👉 Luxor, Leaders In Bitcoin Mining and Compute Power!

Get game-changing mining results with Luxor Firmware. Boost hashrate, cut energy costs, protect your hardware, and maximize mining profits with LuxOS.

Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the

Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews

on Tuesday and a news show on Friday!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.