ExchangeDEX+

Buy Crypto Markets Spot FuturesGOLD Earn Events

A full history of OP_RETURN, its protocol-level inconsistencies, and why the issue persists in Bitcoin Core v30Continue reading on Coinmonks »A full history of OP_RETURN, its protocol-level inconsistencies, and why the issue persists in Bitcoin Core v30Continue reading on Coinmonks »

The Bitcoin Data Carrier Bug: When Consensus Permits What Policy Forbids

Author: Medium

Source: Medium

2025/10/03 13:59

CORE$0.116+0.17%

A full history of OP_RETURN, its protocol-level inconsistencies, and why the issue persists in Bitcoin Core v30

Michael P. Di Fulvio

5 min read

Just now

Press enter or click to view image in full size

OpenAI DALL-E3 by Author

The Bitcoin Data Carrier Bug: From OP_RETURN to Core v30

1. Introduction

Bitcoin has always been permissive in what its consensus layer will accept. That’s both a strength (resilient neutrality) and a weakness (attack surface). The Data Carrier bug sits right at this intersection: a mismatch between Bitcoin’s consensus rules, which allow large OP_RETURN payloads, and Core’s standardness/policy rules, which try to keep them small.

This bug first emerged in 2014 with the introduction of OP_RETURN and remains unresolved today in Core v30, despite multiple policy tweaks. In fact, the issue is more relevant than ever in the age of Ordinals and inscriptions.

2. Early History: Arbitrary Data in Bitcoin

Before OP_RETURN, the only way to store arbitrary data on-chain was to abuse spendable outputs.

Common tricks:

Fake pubkeys in bare multisig: stuffing random bytes into m-of-n multisig…

Market Opportunity

Core DAO Price(CORE)

$0.116

$0.116$0.116

-0.08%

USD

Core DAO (CORE) Live Price Chart

Disclaimer: The articles reposted on this site are sourced from public platforms and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the views of MEXC. All rights remain with the original authors. If you believe any content infringes on third-party rights, please contact service@support.mexc.com for removal. MEXC makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the content and is not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided. The content does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice, nor should it be considered a recommendation or endorsement by MEXC.