According to @Excellion, OP_RETURN2 is a potential Bitcoin soft-fork concept proposing a cheaper, fully discardable OP_RETURN2 annex not included in transaction hashes, limiting OP_RETURN via consensus rules, and removing the SegWit discount. Source: https://x.com/Excellion/status/1974608749429137533 Removing the SegWit discount would increase the effective weight of witness data toward 4 weight units per byte (like base data) from the discounted 1 weight unit, directly raising fees for witness-heavy transactions per the BIP-141 weight formula. Source: https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0141.mediawiki Ordinals inscriptions embed content in Taproot witness data, so higher witness costs would directly raise on-chain inscription costs and could reduce activity in inscription-heavy markets such as BRC-20. Source: https://docs.ordinals.com/inscriptions.html Soft-fork proposals are typically discussed on the bitcoin-dev mailing list and formalized as BIPs, creating public milestones traders can monitor for potential timing and market impact on BTC fees and throughput. Source: https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/bitcoin-dev

According to @ordevents, recent discussions around Bitcoin soft forks highlight their critical role in enabling future protocol upgrades while maintaining backward compatibility (Source: @ordevents via Dan Held, May 27, 2025). For traders, these developments could lead to enhanced network scalability and new features that may impact Bitcoin’s price action and overall crypto market sentiment. Monitoring upcoming soft fork proposals is essential for anticipating potential volatility and opportunities in both spot and derivatives markets.

According to trevor.btc on Twitter, Bitcoin Core developers previously stated it is impossible to prevent Ordinals users from spamming the blockchain with JPEGs. However, Robin Linus, the creator of BitVM, has proposed a new solution: a soft fork that would allow old UTXOs to expire. This approach could significantly reduce the bloat caused by Ordinals inscriptions and improve transaction efficiency. Notably, Linus claims this method also enhances Bitcoin's quantum resistance, potentially strengthening network security against future quantum computing threats. Traders should monitor this proposal closely as its implementation could impact transaction fees, on-chain activity, and the overall value proposition of Bitcoin. Source: trevor.btc on Twitter, May 20, 2025.

According to Mihir (@RhythmicAnalyst), a soft fork in cryptocurrency protocols allows miners to continue operating on older versions of the software even after an update goes live, which can impact network consensus and block validation. For traders, this means that potential discrepancies in miner participation could lead to temporary network slowdowns or splits, affecting transaction speeds and market liquidity until consensus stabilizes (source: twitter.com/RhythmicAnalyst/status/1919354395608613163). Monitoring miner response to soft forks is critical for anticipating short-term volatility in crypto asset prices.