According to BitMEX Research, when Bitcoin nodes materially disagree on transaction relay rules, the less stringent and incentive-compatible relay policy tends to prevail across the network. Source: BitMEX Research on X, Sep 18, 2025, x.com/BitMEXResearch/status/1968746527414780015 For traders, the practical takeaway is that transaction propagation and inclusion likelihoods will align with policies that relay a broader set of transactions when such policies match miner incentives, shaping which transactions reach miners during policy disputes. Source: BitMEX Research on X, Sep 18, 2025, x.com/BitMEXResearch/status/1968746527414780015; Bitcoin Core release notes and policy documentation on transaction relay and mempool behavior, bitcoincore.org/en/releases/ and github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin

According to @stonecoldpat0, there has been no Bitcoin spam for a while and he supports Bitcoin Core updating transaction relay rules, citing context from an @ercwl talk and stating it is not 2014 anymore, implying policy modernisation is warranted for the network stack. Source: @stonecoldpat0 on X, 2025-08-28. Relay rules determine which transactions nodes relay and accept into mempools, shaping propagation and standardness policies that directly influence throughput under load and the fee market during congestion. Source: Bitcoin Core policy and relay documentation; Bitcoin.org Developer Guide (Transactions, Mempool, and Fees). For BTC traders, any relay policy change can shift mempool composition and effective minimum fee rates for timely confirmations, so monitor mempool size and median fee-rate changes around implementation windows to manage slippage and settlement risk. Source: Bitcoin.org Developer Guide on fees and confirmation dynamics; Bitcoin Core policy documentation. Tactical takeaway: if mempool backlog rises and fee-rate floors climb following relay-policy adjustments, tighten intraday risk limits on on-chain settlement, widen withdrawal-fee assumptions for arbitrage legs, and prioritize high-fee, child-pays-for-parent strategies to maintain confirmation speed. Source: Bitcoin.org Developer Guide (fee estimation, CPFP mechanics); Bitcoin Core policy documentation.