- AlphaPacked — Daily Crypto Newsletter
- Posts
- Bitcoin Moderators Censor Developers
Bitcoin Moderators Censor Developers
Alpha Team
May 02, 2025
Bitcoin Devs Censored in OP_RETURN Clash
OP_RETURN Debate Overview: On May 1, 2025, Bitcoin Core moderators muted developers like Luke Dashjr and Bitcoin Mechanic on GitHub amid a heated OP_RETURN dispute. This debate centers on the 83-byte limit for embedding data in Bitcoin transactions, sparked by Peter Todd’s pull request 32359. The issue has divided the community, with #FixTheFilters trending on X as users protest censorship. Samson Mow noted, “There is no consensus on relaxing OP_RETURN limits,” highlighting the lack of agreement. This censorship has raised concerns about Bitcoin’s open ethos.
Sides of the Dispute: The OP_RETURN debate pits progressives, who want to relax the 83-byte limit to allow more data in transactions, against conservatives, who advocate for stricter filters to prevent blockchain bloat. Progressives, led by Jameson Lopp, argue for flexibility, while conservatives like Luke Dashjr prioritize network efficiency. Lopp defended GitHub’s censorship, claiming it refocused the technical pull request by muting ad hominem attackers. However, muted devs like Bitcoin Mechanic are long-time contributors, contradicting Lopp’s claims and fueling community backlash.
Censorship by Maintainers: Bitcoin Core maintainers are aggressively censoring OP_RETURN speech, muting contributors like Bitcoin Mechanic, despite their years of Core development. Moderators also silenced Luke Dashjr and others, prompting Rockstar Dev to warn, “Ban season is in full swing.” Giacomo Zucco called moderators a “cabal,” and Michelle Weekley said it violates Bitcoin’s ethos. Lopp praised the censorship, falsely claiming only non-contributors were blocked. Read More.
️ On today's Top Picks:
- 🍎 Apple eases crypto & NFT rules for iOS apps.
- 🚀 Aztec launches public testnet.
- 💸 Strategy $MSTR to raise $21B to buy more Bitcoin $BTC.
- 🐸 dao5 raises $222M for its second fund.
Read time: ⏰ 6 minutes
Crypto News
• ⭐️ Bitcoin $BTC GitHub moderators censor developers amid OP_RETURN dispute; Bitcoin developers recently voted in split disagreement over a proposal to relax the data storage ability in transactions using a Bitcoin operation code, OP_RETURN.
• Tether $USDT releases Q1 2025 attestation; reports 1B operating profits, 7B supply increase, 143.6B total issued USDT, & more.
• Tether $USDT reportedly prepares to launch US-based stablecoin as soon as this year; potentially due to pending US stablecoin regulations.
• MGX to use World Liberty Financial $WLFI USD stablecoin $USD1 to close $2B investment in Binance; unclear if other stablecoins will also be used.
• PumpFun deposits 105,233 Solana $SOL worth ~$15M to Kraken; deposited a total 3,202,498 SOL worth ~$475M to Kraken so far.
• 21Shares files to launch spot Sui $SUI ETF; also announces a “strategic partnership” with Sui to produce product collaborations, research reports, and other initiatives.
• Movement $MOVE suspends Rushi Manche; cites ongoing events and third-party review of organizational governance & recent incidents involving a market maker for the decision.
• ⭐️ Apple eases crypto & NFT rules for iOS apps following antitrust ruling; developers can now offer external payment methods and enable NFT purchases from secondary marketplaces.
Alpha
• Coinbase $COIN launches new Coinbase Wallet early limited beta; users can join the waitlist for access.
• Optimism $OP launches 2x XP multiplier for the SuperStacks campaign until May 9th; Superchain OG's are eligible for the boost.
• ⭐️ Aztec launches public testnet; Aztec is a privacy-focused Ethereum Layer 2 and previously raised $100M in Series B funding led by a16z Crypto in December 2022.
• Abstract launches Giga Juicy Flash Badge; consume Giga Juice in Gigaverse to claim.
• Espresso shares more details about The Composables NFT collection; starts at the end of May, to mint in 3 phases, and to reveal allow list details over the upcoming weeks.
Airdrops
• Weekly Airdrop Recap by Earndrop.
• Binance launches StakeStone $STO HODLer Airdrop; $BNB Simple Earn and/or On-Chain Yields subscribers from April 27th to April 29th are eligible.
• ICYMI Movement delays $MOVE MoveDrop; cites ongoing investigation into market maker abnormalities, governance changes, and a sybil attack as reasons for the delay.
• ICYMI MilkyWay launches $MILK airdrop claim; mPoint holders, Moolitia NFT holders, & milkINIT testers are eligible.
• ICYMI Weekly Airdrop Recap (previous week) by Earndrop.
Finance News
• China considers sending top security official Wang Xiaohong to meet US President Trump's team for trade talks; previously said it was assessing possible trade talks with the US.
• US S&P 500 $SPX records 9th consecutive day of gains; longest winning streak in over 20 years.
• ⭐️ Strategy $MSTR reports Q1 2025 earnings; reports 553,555 Bitcoin $BTC holdings worth ~$53B, raises 2025 BTC Yield target to 25%, & announces raise $21B equity offering to buy more BTC.
• Metaplanet $3350.T issues $25M in bonds to buy more Bitcoin $BTC; currently holds 5,000 BTC worth ~$484M.
• Riot Platforms $RIOT reports Q1 2025 earnings; reports $161.4M in total revenue with a net loss of $296.4M.
Security and Exploits
• ZachXBT names "Nina/Mo" & "W0rk" as two suspects in the recent ~$330M Bitcoin $BTC heist; ~$7M of the stolen funds has been frozen.
• SlowMist releases April 2025 Security Report; estimates ~$21.11M in losses with ~$17.89M recovered/frozen from 18 incidents.
• Kraken uncovers a North Korean hacker attempting to infiltrate the company as an engineering candidate; Kraken gathered intel before exposing the operation.
Token Unlocks
• Sui $SUI / ~$259M / MAY 01st
• ZetaChain $ZETA / ~$12M / MAY 01st
• Ethena $ENA / ~$12M / MAY 02nd
• Ethena $ENA / ~$52M / MAY 05th
• Spectral $SPEC / ~$23M / MAY 06th
Sourced from Tokenomist
Funding
• ⭐️ dao5 raises $222M for its second fund; to focus on institutional applications like stablecoins and asset tokenization.
• Dinari raises $12.7M in Series A funding led by HackVC & Blockchange Ventures.
• BoopFun raises an undisclosed amount in Angel funding from several investors.
The Degen Farmer
Top stablecoin yield farms of the day, more than $3,000,000 in TVL. DYOR and step up your farming game!
| PROTOCOL | ASSETS | APY |
|---|---|---|
 Notional V3 (Ethereum) | PTUSDE26MAR2025 | 59.66% |
 Indigo (Cardano) | IUSD | 40.80% |
 BeraPaw (Berachain) | KODISUSDAUSDA | 23.70% |
 Merkl (Ethereum) | XUPUSDC | 23.25% |
 Spectra V2 (Ethereum) | CUSDO | 19.05% |
 Meridian AMM (Move) | USDT.EUSDC.E | 18.69% |
 Napier (Ethereum) | CUSDO | 16.63% |
 Curve DEX (Ethereum) | IDAIIUSDCIUSDT | 15.87% |
🌊 Fluid: Financial System of the Future. |  |
🌊 Fluid: Developed by the Instadapp team, Fluid is a base layer for DeFi protocols, enabling new and capital-efficient solutions. Its features include a unified Liquidity Layer, lending and vault protocols, a DEX protocol, and more, supporting a wide range of DeFi applications.
✨ DEX v2: Drawing inspiration from across DeFi, Fluid’s DEX v2 aims to be the most advanced decentralized exchange in the crypto space, featuring:
• Smart Collateral Range Orders
• Smart Debt Range Orders
• On-Chain Dynamic Fees
• Hooks (Inspired by Uniswap v4)
• Flash Accounting (Inspired by Uniswap v4)
• On-Chain Limit Orders
• DEX v1 Support
DEX v2 is undergoing testing and auditing and is expected to be live in June/July.
⚡ Lombard Vaults: Lombard offers $LBTC, a leading Bitcoin liquid staking token. Its Lux & Luminary Program is ongoing with an airdrop expected soon and Fluid just recently introduced Lombard Vaults:
• LBTC-wBTC ↔ wBTC
• LBTC-cbBTC ↔ cbBTC
Users can supply liquidity, leverage positions, and earn trading fees, lending yields, and up to 33x Lombard Points—all at once. Lombard Points (Lombard Lux) are expected to convert to Lombard tokens soon!
That’s it for today’s edition! See you soon.
Reply