Supply Shock Bitcoin Core vs Knots: Are We Headed for a Fork? | Mike Schmidt
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Oct 7, 2025 
Mike Schmidt, Executive Director at Brink and a veteran contributor to Bitcoin Optech, dives into the technical controversies surrounding Bitcoin. He tackles myths about Bitcoin Core, discusses the implications of OP_RETURN changes, and sheds light on how node operators influence the network's structure. The conversation also explores the risks of multiple implementations, the significance of funding sources, and the challenges of aligning developer decisions with popular opinion. It's a thought-provoking look at Bitcoin's evolving landscape!
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Bitcoin Core Is Broad But Not Infinite
- Bitcoin Core is a sizable, decentralized open-source project with dozens of full-time engineers and many part-time contributors.
- Multiple organizations fund development, reducing centralization concerns but increasing need for more engineers.
Technical Consensus Has Many Meanings
- "Technical consensus" differs between protocol consensus and policy choices inside a client.
- For non-consensus policy changes, developers' agreement can be treated as technical consensus for the software.
Limit Change Aims To Remove Perverse Incentives
- Developers raised the OP_RETURN limit because people were embedding larger data via fake pubkeys, creating a perverse incentive.
- Raising the limit aims to reduce harmful workarounds while inscriptions already allow large data.