The growing trend of embedding arbitrary data in Bitcoin transactions, like Ordinal inscriptions and BRC-20 tokens, has sparked discussion about how Bitcoin's limited blockspace is being used, how it impacts the long-term size of the UTXO set, and what role miners and node operators should play in relaying or filtering such transactions. Some see this as a natural extension of Bitcoin’s capabilities, while others see it as an inefficient use of the network.

This talk looks at how a proposed soft-fork upgrades (activation of OP_CTV and OP_CSFS) could provide a more purpose-built alternative. These opcodes enable structured, rule-based Bitcoin transactions, making it possible to build advanced protocols without relying on ad-hoc data storage or unusual transaction formats. By introducing clearer ways to define spending conditions and reference external data, they offer a potential path to reduce pressure on the network while still supporting innovation.