The OP_RETURN drama just shows how MANY people don’t understand the basics of how #Bitcoin works.
Spoiler: you can’t stop arbitrary data storage on the timechain. Trying to do so might even make things worse.

Some people are saying it's possible to "filter" spam in the mempool.
Wrong. That’s unfeasible. Anyone saying that is either misinformed or acting in bad faith.

The mempool is just local policy. Who really decides what goes into a block are the miners.

Many blindly believe influencers without understanding the fundamentals:
#Bitcoin is a decentralized database designed to store data.
Financial transactions are one type of data — not the only one.

"But shouldn’t we prioritize financial transactions?"
Yes.
"But can we stop arbitrary data from going into the timechain?"
No.
"Are there good reasons to store arbitrary data on #Bitcoin?"
Absolutely.

L2s and scalability solutions depend on on-chain proofs.
That’s just data storage.
It doesn’t matter what your node accepts or not — miners are incentivized to include these transactions and profit from them.

Financial incentives are what drive the system. Period.

If you try to become a “Bitcoin™ Defender” by running software with crazy filters...
Guess what?

The transactions go straight to the miners (with extra fees)
Small miners get left behind
Mining centralizes
People will hide the data using steganography (and you won’t even notice)

Even worse: it discourages developers.
Few people work full-time on #Bitcoin already.
Imagine having to deal with drama and FUD just to propose a basic PR?

Fewer devs = slower progress = more risk = weaker #Bitcoin.

"But what about spam?"
#Bitcoin already has a built-in antispam: fees.
Don’t want to see JPEGs or zk-proofs?
Use real #Bitcoin: spend, self-custody, join the circular economy.

You know why “spam” increased so much?
Because most people stopped using #Bitcoin on-chain.
Today it’s all custodians: Strike, Wallet of Satoshi, Liquid…

Less usage = more free space = more arbitrary data on the timechain.

Want to fix it?
More real usage → more demand for block space → higher fees → less incentive to use Bitcoin as storage.

Simple. And effective.

Want to “save #Bitcoin”?
It’s not through filtering, censorship, or hysteria.
It’s through real usage, open source, economic incentives, and freedom.

#Bitcoin is neutral. And that’s a good thing.