An anonymous Bitcoin user recently inscribed the full text of the U.S. Constitution onto the Bitcoin blockchain. The transaction, approximately 44.4 KB in size, incurred a fee of about $83.41. Because the inscribed content remains permanently on the chain, the action quickly drew attention within the crypto community.
How is inscription completed?
This transaction used Bitcoin's OP_RETURN field, which allows users to embed data within a transaction. After the related byte limit was removed last year, it became possible to write larger amounts of data.
The fees and volume are both substantial.
According to blockchain explorer data, the size of this transaction is significantly larger than a typical transfer. The comparison in the text shows that a transfer of approximately 0.01 BTC at the same time was only 227 bytes and had a noticeably lower fee.
- Engraved content: Full text of the United States Constitution
- Transaction size: approximately 44.4 KB
- Fee: Approximately $83.41
The controversy over Bitcoin inscriptions flares up again
The article notes that Bitcoin inscriptions are not a new phenomenon. The 2023 Ordinals boom spurred increased on-chain activity and reignited discussions about block space and transaction fees. Supporters argue that this expands Bitcoin’s utility, while critics worry it deviates from the network’s original purpose as a payment system.