The recent claim by veteran Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr that Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens exploit a bug in the Bitcoin network has sent shockwaves across the crypto community. With ORDI, the flagship token of the Ordinals ecosystem, surging over 20,000% at its peak, Dashjr’s statement caused a $300 million market cap drop in minutes. But just how much power do Bitcoin Core developers actually have? Can they really erase an entire ecosystem like Ordinals with a code update?
This article dives into the technical, social, and philosophical layers behind Bitcoin’s governance, exploring the real influence of core developers, the role of miners and node operators, and whether Bitcoin Ordinals are here to stay.
Who Is Luke Dashjr?
👉 Discover how one developer's code change could reshape Bitcoin's future.
Luke Dashjr is not just any contributor — he’s one of Bitcoin’s earliest and most respected developers. Joining the project in 2011, Dashjr quickly became a key figure in shaping Bitcoin Core’s security, performance, and protocol design. He ranks 14th in total code contributions to the Bitcoin Core repository and played pivotal roles in critical upgrades like SegWit activation and BIP-2 improvements.
Dashjr is known for his uncompromising stance on Bitcoin maximalism — the belief that Bitcoin should remain focused on its original purpose: sound money. He views features like smart contracts or NFTs as distractions that compromise decentralization and network integrity.
In December 2023, Dashjr announced that Ordinals exploit a long-standing vulnerability in how Bitcoin Core handles data embedded in transactions. Specifically, by encoding metadata as script code, Ordinals bypass size limits intended to prevent spam. According to him, this flaw was patched in Bitcoin Knots v25.1 (a Bitcoin client he helped create), but remains unpatched in mainstream Bitcoin Core — at least until a potential fix in version 27.
“If this bug is fixed, Ordinals and BRC-20 will no longer exist,” Dashjr stated plainly.
But does one developer — even one as influential as Dashjr — have the authority to make such a change?
How Code Gets Merged Into Bitcoin Core
To understand who controls Bitcoin, we must first clarify what “control” means in an open-source, decentralized system.
At the heart of Bitcoin development lies the GitHub repository for Bitcoin Core, maintained by a small group of trusted developers. Two types of permissions matter most:
- Code submission rights: Allow developers to propose changes.
- Code merge rights: Grant the ability to approve and integrate those changes into the official codebase.
While many contribute, only a few hold merge authority — currently just three: Wladimir J. van der Laan, Michael Ford, and Hennadii Stepanov. Notably, prominent figures like Pieter Wuille and Marco Falke voluntarily stepped down from these roles in 2022 and 2023.
Having merge rights doesn’t mean unilateral control. Every proposed change undergoes rigorous peer review, public discussion, and testing. Major updates often take months or even years to gain consensus.
The process to merge new code includes:
- Proposal drafting (e.g., BIPs – Bitcoin Improvement Proposals)
- Community review via mailing lists, GitHub, and forums
- Iterative refinement based on feedback
- Miner signaling for protocol-level changes
- Node adoption across the network
- Final activation once thresholds are met
This multi-layered process ensures no single person can force a change — not even a core maintainer.
FAQ: Your Burning Questions Answered
Q: Can a Bitcoin Core developer delete Ordinals with a single update?
A: Technically, yes — if a patch removes support for Taproot-based data embedding. But such a change requires broad consensus and cannot be forced unilaterally.
Q: Why does Luke Dashjr oppose Ordinals?
A: He believes they violate Bitcoin’s original vision by bloating the blockchain, increasing node operation costs, and enabling spam-like behavior under the guise of innovation.
Q: What happens if developers try to remove Ordinals without consensus?
A: The network could split. Miners, users, and node operators would choose which version to support — similar to the 2017 Bitcoin Cash fork.
Q: Are Ordinals secure? Do they break Bitcoin?
A: They operate within protocol rules using Taproot. While controversial, they don’t compromise cryptographic security — but they do increase storage and bandwidth demands.
Q: Who ultimately decides Bitcoin’s direction?
A: No single entity. Power is distributed among developers, miners, full node operators, and users — each with different incentives and influence.
Q: Could miners protect Ordinals even if developers remove them?
A: Yes. Miners control block production. If they profit from Ordinals fees, they’re unlikely to adopt a version that disables them — effectively vetoing any anti-Ordinals update.
The Miners’ Dilemma: Fees vs Philosophy
👉 See how miner incentives are shaping Bitcoin’s next evolution.
While developers shape the software, miners secure the network — and their incentives increasingly align with Ordinals.
In 2022–2023, during bear market conditions, miner revenues plummeted. Block rewards halved in 2024, making transaction fees more critical than ever. Enter BRC-20 and Ordinals: complex transactions that generate significantly higher fees.
Data shows:
- Average transaction fees spiked from $2 to over $31 during peak Ordinals activity.
- In November 2023 alone, Ordinals-related transactions generated $38.7 million in miner revenue.
- Total miner income rose 30.1% year-on-year despite market stagnation.
As F2Pool co-founder "Shen Yu" put it: “Bitcoin isn’t Ethereum — developers don’t call the shots.” With major pools like AntPool and ViaBTC opposing Dashjr’s stance, miner resistance to anti-Ordinals patches is strong.
Simply put: you can’t ask miners to kill their revenue stream.
Community Divisions: Innovation or Spam?
The debate over Ordinals reflects deeper philosophical rifts within the Bitcoin community.
Pro-Ordinals View:
- Revitalizes Bitcoin’s ecosystem after years of stagnation.
- Increases user engagement and developer interest.
- Leverages Taproot upgrades in creative ways.
- Creates new economic models (e.g., collectibles, memes).
Anti-Ordinals View:
- Bloats the blockchain, threatening node decentralization.
- Risks degrading wallet and explorer reliability.
- Encourages “spam” transactions disguised as art.
- Undermines fungibility — core to Bitcoin’s monetary properties.
Even some NFT creators have criticized misuse of developer identities. Dashjr himself condemned an auction selling an NFT based on his code without consent — highlighting ethical concerns around digital ownership.
Yet others argue that censorship goes against Bitcoin’s ethos. As one crypto analyst noted: “Trying to filter ‘spam’ gives developers too much power — isn’t that centralization?”
Could Bitcoin Fork Again?
The tension echoes the 2017 block size debate that led to Bitcoin Cash. Then, miners pushed for larger blocks; now, they’re defending fee-generating applications.
A split isn’t impossible:
- One chain could preserve Ordinals (Bitcoin++).
- Another could enforce stricter data rules (Classic Bitcoin).
But unlike 2017, today’s community is more experienced. Hard forks carry high risks — loss of value, confusion, fragmentation. Most stakeholders prefer coordination over confrontation.
Still, if developers push a patch removing Ordinals without miner buy-in, a fork becomes likely.
Final Verdict: Can Ordinals Be Removed?
No single developer — not even Luke Dashjr — can unilaterally erase Ordinals. While he holds influence and technical insight, Bitcoin’s true governance lies in economic majority.
Miners won’t adopt changes that hurt revenue. Node operators won’t run software they disagree with. Users vote with their wallets.
👉 Learn how decentralized consensus protects Bitcoin from top-down control.
So while a bug fix might technically disable Ordinals today, long-term survival depends on network consensus, not code authority.
The era of passive acceptance is over. Now, every upgrade must earn legitimacy through debate, demonstration, and widespread agreement.
Core Keywords
Bitcoin Core developers, Ordinals protocol, BRC-20 tokens, blockchain governance, miner incentives, Taproot upgrade, decentralized consensus
Bitcoin’s future isn’t written in code — it’s forged in conflict, compromise, and collective choice. Whether you’re building on it or believing in it, one truth remains: no one controls Bitcoin — everyone does.