Slovak programmer Martin Habovstiak has embedded a 66 KB image in the Bitcoin blockchain as part of an experiment, challenging the proposed spam prevention rules of BIP-110.

Oooops, my contiguous image file got misinterpreted as a transaction WITHOUT OP_RETURN by the Bitcoin network and now it's forever contiguously stored in the chain! https://t.co/R2QOUqxABo

(BTW, I only logged in to post this don't expect me to use X again anytime soon.)

— MⒶrtin HⒶboⓋštiak [BEFORE! Jan/3➞₿🔑∎, LNP/BP] (@kixunil) February 27, 2026

The public transaction contains a hexadecimal code that decodes into a TIFF image file. The image depicts a crying Bitcoin developer, Luke Dash Jr., a prominent supporter of BIP-110.

Source: knotslies.com.

The transaction lacks OP_RETURN opcodes, does not rely on OP_RETURN, and does not use Taproot (instead, it uses SegWit v0) and does not include OP_IF instructions. Thus, it completely bypasses the restrictions proposed under BIP-110.

The proposal introduced in early December 2025 aims to temporarily reduce the size of data transmitted in transactions at the consensus level. Led by the Bitcoin Knots team, this initiative is set to last for one year and is implemented via a soft fork. 

BIP-110 is positioned as a spam protection measure for the network and a legal shield for node operators in cases of illegal content dissemination. At the time of writing, around 8.8% of nodes signal support for the initiative.

In his blog, Habovstiak published instructions for verifying the transaction and retrieving the image. He stated that the project's goal was to provide evidence that the claims of Bitcoin Knots supporters "are not true."

The main argument of Knots supporters is that the legality of the data stored [on the blockchain] on hard drives matters. Therefore, they advocate for reducing the size of every bit of data in the Bitcoin network to prevent anyone from doing anything illegal. The idea itself is already absurd," the developer stated. 

Habovstiak noted that the project was a "one-off event" and promised not to publish the code to avoid a "new wave of NFT shitcoins" in the Bitcoin network. 

He identified himself as an opponent of blockchain spam but emphasized that he despises lies even more. 

Spammers will always find a way around. Just like I did. And worse yet, almost all of these protective measures, besides promoting spam, create other problems, including increasing its volume," the programmer added. 

Recall that in February, Blockstream CEO Adam Back called the BIP-110 update an attack on Bitcoin's reputation and a "Lynch mob."