Do Core Maintainers Bear Responsibility for Bitcoin's Direction?

Mentor Sessions Ep. 031: Bitcoin Core V30 Controversy: OP_RETURN Limit Removal, Spam Risks, Bitcoin Knots Debate, & Bitcoin Ethos | Tomer Strolight

Is Bitcoin Core V30 a reckless betrayal or a pointless non-issue? Dive into this explosive BTC Sessions interview with Tomer Strolight, former tech executive and prolific Bitcoin author, as we unravel the polarizing Bitcoin Core V30 controversy. Discover why removing the OP_RETURN limit is sparking outrage—opening doors to spam like inscriptions, JPEGs, and BRC20 tokens, bloating the blockchain and hiking fees. Tomer exposes the Bitcoin Knots debate, with 20% of nodes ditching Core for alternatives, and questions Bitcoin developers' stewardship: Should they prioritize decentralization and neutrality, or risk diluting Bitcoin's ethos as sound money?

Chapters:

00:00:00 Intro & Teaser: Heightened Tension in Bitcoin

00:01:19 Core V30 Explained: Data Carrier Size Filter Removal

00:02:25 Inscriptions History & Shitcoining on Bitcoin

00:04:21 Community Uproar & 20% Node Shift to Knots

00:06:50 Suspicious Justifications for V30 Changes

00:08:19 Doctor Analogy: Removing "Useless" Features

00:10:23 Why V30 Feels Reckless: Untested Wholesale Changes

00:12:49 Experience vs Bad Judgment in Development

00:15:03 Core's Loss of Trust & Stewardship Issues

00:17:34 Silver Lining: Don't Trust, Verify & More Implementations

00:20:19 Learning from SegWit/Taproot Mistakes

00:23:12 Bitcoin's Political System: Proof of Work Consensus

00:26:17 How to Learn the Core vs Knots Debate

00:33:13 Visualizing Bitcoin's Gossip Protocol

00:35:57 Developers' Responsibility & Core Ownership Debate

00:39:41 Ideal Developer Role: Focus on Monetary Priority

00:43:41 Bitcoin's Ethos: Spirit of Sound Money

00:47:30 Non-Monetary Uses Detract from Bitcoin's Purity

00:50:39 Worst-Case Scenarios: Censorship vs Deterring Adoption

00:54:09 Cost of Leaving the Filter: Non-Issue Maintenance

00:57:34 Mining Centralization Risks from V30

01:00:51 Bitcoin Mining Evolution & Future Prognosis

01:05:47 Marketing Bitcoin & Role of Art

01:09:18 Tomer's Spiritual Awakening Through Bitcoin

01:13:05 Bitcoin Unlocks Humanity's Spirit of Freedom

01:17:29 State of Canada: Resources & Hardiness

About Tomer Strolight

Former tech executive, prolific Bitcoin author. Creator of films like "Bitcoin is Generational Wealth" and books like "Why Bitcoin."

X.com: @TomerStrolight

Nostr: tomer@nostrs.com

npub: npub1cq0ryx70gfpz0d8u3yz4qm8g6f3z8p3m4yq3g0y4j4gpnz6qm5mq9w3z0

Website: tomerstrolight.medium.com

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Check out the previous episode with Jeff Booth: https://youtu.be/SAHUkj9Lbno

#bitcoin #bitcoinCoreV30 #OP_RETURN #bitcoincore #spam #bitcoinKnots #bitcoinDevelopers #controversy #decentralization #ethos #neutrality #BTCSessions #TomerStrolight #crypto