Economist and author of The Bitcoin Standard, Saifedean Ammous, has expressed support for funding a developer to reduce Bitcoin network spam. The call comes amid growing tension in the Bitcoin community over the rising use of spam inscriptions, often tied to JPEG storage.

Ammous shared his views in response to a thread by pseudonymous developer GrassFedBitcoin, who proposed a pull request to Bitcoin Core aimed at enabling spam filtering. This pull request, #28408, would give node operators the option to reject inscription-related data more easily.

Ammous Supports Spam Filtering to Preserve Bitcoin’s Monetary Role

Saifedean Ammous suggested contributing financially to hire a full-time developer. The developer’s goal would be to make Bitcoin spam more difficult and expensive. Ammous compared spam on the Bitcoin network to email spam, saying that while it is a challenge, it must be addressed.

He stated, “It’s not easy, but it’s worth trying to help bankrupt the spammers faster.” He emphasized that removing spam does not equal censorship. “A node runner looking to remove spam is no less valid than spammers,” Ammous added.

The author’s remarks were in response to concerns about inscriptions bloating the Bitcoin blockchain. These inscriptions allow users to embed data, such as JPEGs, in Bitcoin transactions. Critics argue this use case undermines Bitcoin’s role as a monetary protocol.

Developer Pushes for Pull Request to Curb Bitcoin Spam

GrassFedBitcoin raised concerns about the increasing volume of spam data in Bitcoin blocks. He said, “No one running a node wants to relay inscriptions.” He argued that past increases in OP_RETURN limits were based on flawed assumptions.

The developer proposed a configurable policy that would discourage using Bitcoin to store images or unrelated data. He also pointed out that such activity is causing unnecessary blockchain bloat.

The suggested pull request, if merged, would allow node operators to filter these transactions by default. It would not block transactions but make it easier for node users to choose what to relay. This is part of broader efforts to keep Bitcoin optimized for financial use rather than data storage.

Blockstream CEO Raises Concerns Over Effectiveness of Spam Filters

Blockstream CEO Adam Back responded to the proposal by calling spam filtering an “arms race.” He warned that spammers can endlessly change their methods to bypass filters. “They use different code structures, which would require ongoing updates,” Back said.

He questioned whether filtering alone could be a long-term solution. His remarks reflect a broader concern among developers about the technical and ethical limits of transaction filtering.

Despite these challenges, others in the discussion echoed Ammous’s call for stronger anti-spam tools. Some proposed reversing past decisions that enabled spam and even hiring outside experts to identify and block spam transactions.

Inscriptions Could Expand Bitcoin Blocks Beyond Current Averages

A report by Mempool Research from February 2024 warned about the rising size of Bitcoin blocks. It was revealed by the study that inscriptions would allow the average block to be sized at 4 megabytes. The new numbers are far above the existing average which is between 1.2 and 1.5 MB.

Changing the block size may influence the amount of time and cost it takes to finalize transactions. As a result, Bitcoin has difficulty growing smoothly as a system for peer-to-peer payments. People have expressed concerns that the trend may continue if nothing is done.

It is obvious from this discussion that some see Bitcoin as useful for money matters those who do not use it financially. With the rise in inscriptions, more people are pushing for new technologies to prevent Bitcoin from drifting from its original purpose.