I'm not as knowledgeable as some in the community, so I can only provide a partial list. Op_cat is powerful and nobody knows all the ways it can be used. It's a hope that creative attackers won't later find a way to abuse it. Like with the changes with segwit and taproot that were later abused to make it easier and cheaper to add inscriptions to the chain, if something has unknown scope, it could be used in ways we don't foresee. Also, developers are focused on the technical risks of the proposal. Few are considering the full system of overlapping incentives that make the bitcoin network function properly and keep it decentralized. Op_cat likely increases the power of miners over the nodes by increasing MEV extraction attacks, promoting miner centralization. Those who oppose op_cat often take the view that bitcoin is our best hope for separating money from state and we must move carefully. Just as we wouldn't make changes to a operating nuclear power plant without understanding the full risks, we shouldn't just make changes to the bitcoin network without understanding the full risks. As nobody can know the full risks of a feature like op_cat (because of its flexibility and power), it should be used only in sidechains and L2s.
https://milkroad.com/guide/mev/
PowderHound
npub1av…ta7yg
2026-09-27 12:21:03 UTC
in reply to nevent1q…zaqg
Author Public Key
npub1avgjma5el6heglcf200379xd690c6m3ry2kfay7wk4zvsk8v5y6sjta7ygSeen on
wss://relay.damus.ioPublished at
2026-09-27 12:21:03 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "I'm not as knowledgeable as some in the community, so I can only provide a partial list. Op_cat is powerful and nobody knows all the ways it can be used. It's a hope that creative attackers won't later find a way to abuse it. Like with the changes with segwit and taproot that were later abused to make it easier and cheaper to add inscriptions to the chain, if something has unknown scope, it could be used in ways we don't foresee. Also, developers are focused on the technical risks of the proposal. Few are considering the full system of overlapping incentives that make the bitcoin network function properly and keep it decentralized. Op_cat likely increases the power of miners over the nodes by increasing MEV extraction attacks, promoting miner centralization. Those who oppose op_cat often take the view that bitcoin is our best hope for separating money from state and we must move carefully. Just as we wouldn't make changes to a operating nuclear power plant without understanding the full risks, we shouldn't just make changes to the bitcoin network without understanding the full risks. As nobody can know the full risks of a feature like op_cat (because of its flexibility and power), it should be used only in sidechains and L2s.\nhttps://milkroad.com/guide/mev/",
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