Hello all,
I would like to humbly request review of my proposal “The Cat”:
At a high level, it proposes a new approach to curbing non-monetary uses of Bitcoin (for example inscriptions and Stamps-style protocols) that, according to the measurements in the repository, currently account for over 40% of the UTXO set on commonly used implementations. The draft is thorough; before commenting, please see the Rationale and FAQ for common concerns.
The actions suggested by the BIP are, to my knowledge, unprecedented, so I expect them to be highly controversial. I ask that you take the time to consider my motivations in good faith, as I see this as a pragmatic and necessary step to address a real issue we face today. If this is not the best approach, I hope to come closer to finding a better solution through discussion here.
This is still a draft, but I’ve put a lot of work into it. So far it has had the benefit of review from a few close friends and members of the technical community, and I’d now love to hear opinions from the wider Bitcoin development community.
I think discussion is valuable. If it’s a bad idea, I trust the development community will make that clear through open technical review and debate on this forum, in a way that will still benefit all of us.
I have worked hard to keep it simple and to consider edge cases that could impact its viability, though I’m hopeful exposure to this community will reveal issues that have not been anticipated yet.
For the avoidance of doubt: I am not an AI, and this proposal is not the result of an AI. I only mention this because there have been accusations to that effect in the bips repo. I reached out to dozens of people while preparing this draft, many of whom have been very open about their disagreements with the methods it considers. I think they would attest to my humanity and to the care I have put into drafting the proposal.
Thank you for your time and consideration.