Charles Hoskinson Joins Bitcoin Messaging Debate
Charles Hoskinson, founder and CEO of Cardano and Input Output Global (IOG), has joined the discussion on Bitcoin’s messaging improvements. The debate heated up after the Cardano DRep, Psiloblox, highlighted the OP_Return lack of support for Bitcoin wallets. Hoskinson calls this point “interesting” and emphasizes improving the communication within the Bitcoin network.
On that, Cardano’s Lace wallet plans to introduce Bitcoin support. The ADA community quickly became attracted to the debate and pointed out that many other Bitcoin wallets have flaws. Psiloblox explains that many Bitcoin wallets still don’t follow OP_Return. Despite Bitcoin’s huge popularity, the OP_Return remains a fully non-financial transaction feature.
Looking back on his own past experience, Psiloblox recalled asking once to have a message field added in the Bitkit wallet. He envisioned a simple way to input text that would be automatically converted to HEX format for direct use. Moonshine Wallet was called out as a real example embracing this vision.
Developers Target Bitcoin’s 80-Byte Restriction
Beyond single proposals, other Bitcoin developers have initiated more general improvements aimed at enhancing OP_Return capabilities. One well-respected developer, Peter Todd, acknowledged that there have been attempts over a couple of years to address data storage misuse by means of this feature. His proposal today aims to remove restrictions on OP_Return, specifically a limit of 80 bytes placed on this feature when it was implemented to reduce spam on the blockchain.
Why is everyone seemingly losing their minds about modifying OP_Return, as first discussed by @peterktodd and @darosior??
Come with me on a brief journey into developer land to try to understand…
(also, please correct me if I misstate something here!)
1/pic.twitter.com/1snI6Tbm5v — Rob Warren (@BikesandBitcoin) April 28, 2025
Todd’s effort stems from work started by Chaincode Labs’ Antoine Poinsot, who developed a way to enable testing of removing the data size limitation. They reason that removing this restriction would correlate with contemporary Bitcoin usage patterns and enable transaction potential to evolve. In parallel, even with past constraints, users have consistently found means to circumvent storage constraints on the network.
On the ease-of-use side, Psiloblox also suggested introducing features of QR code scanning to make OP_Return more convenient to use. Incorporating such a concept would not only make wallets convenient but would also provide a competitive advantage for parties that have advanced communication tools in Bitcoin transactions.
Core Developer Calls OP_Return Expansion “Utter Insanity”
However, the movement to expand OP_Return is not without fierce resistance. Luke Dashjr, a long-time Bitcoin core developer, expressed strong opposition to the proposed changes, calling them “utter insanity.” His criticism reflects deep concerns within parts of the Bitcoin community about opening the door to non-financial data storage on the blockchain.
Dashjr warned that Bitcoin’s blockspace should remain strictly for financial transactions, arguing that arbitrary data insertion has already harmed the network. He stressed that over two years of attacks by so-called “spammers” have demonstrated the dangers of allowing too much non-essential information to circulate. According to him, ignoring these damages is irresponsible, questioning: “Am I the only one left who prioritizes Bitcoin’s future stability?”