If you’re new to Bitcoin or the only sats you hold are in an ETF or a centralized exchange, you’d be forgiven for not knowing about Core vs Knots and the entire OP_RETURN saga. But if you’ve weathered a few cycles, HODLed like a champ, and are still scratching your head, it’s time you opened your eyes: the 2025 ‘spam wars’ bear all the hallmarks of the block size wars almost a decade before it, and it’s getting ugly fast.

Like the block size wars, the spam wars involve a fundamental ideological clash over the core principles of Bitcoin, particularly scaling versus decentralization, and whether to prioritize network capacity and ease of use over a simpler, permissionless protocol.

Supporters of Bitcoin Core, the long-standing reference implementation, and Bitcoin Knots, an increasingly popular alternative maintained by developer and CTO at Ocean Mining, Luke Dashjr, are at loggerheads, and the gloves are coming off.

Core vs Knots, what’s happening?

At the center of the controversy is Bitcoin Core’s planned removal of the 80-byte limit on OP_RETURN data in its upcoming v30 release, scheduled for October 2025.

This technical change, intended to boost flexibility and unlock new use cases for embedding data on Bitcoin’s blockchain, is fiercely opposed by Knots backers, who argue it transforms the main network into a dumping ground for non-financial transactions and spam.

Core developers, like Peter Todd and Jameson Lopp, claim the change supports broader innovation, like digital art and document verification. They support everyone’s right to use the Bitcoin blockchain as they feel and not have governance or morals thrust upon them. Lopp posted:

“I truly detest politics. Thus I have little patience for those who try to impose traditional governance models onto Bitcoin. If you don’t like anarchy, you’

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Author: Christina Comben