Supply Shock Bitcoin Civil War: Core vs. Knots Over Arbitrary Data | Shinobi
Sep 11, 2025
Shinobi, a technical editor at Bitcoin Magazine, shares his deep insights into the ongoing rift between Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots. They tackle the contentious issue of arbitrary data in transactions and the ideological differences surrounding Bitcoin's role as a financial system versus a neutral settlement layer. The conversation also delves into the implications of developer authority on network dynamics and the historical Fork Wars, highlighting the challenges of dissent within the community and the cyclical nature of innovations like ordinals.
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Developers Can't Force Network Behavior
- Bitcoin's design prevents any single developer group from forcing changes on users or nodes.
- Anyone can modify client code and run alternative relay policy, so Core cannot unilaterally stop transactions.
Single-Path Censorship Resistance
- A single path to a miner suffices for censorship resistance and transaction inclusion.
- Relay policy differences across nodes do not prevent users from finding a path to miners who will accept their transactions.
Relay Rules Versus Consensus Rules
- Consensus rules (what's valid in blocks) differ from relay rules (what nodes forward).
- Historically stricter relay checks existed to protect resources, but miners can still accept transactions outside relay norms.