CoinDesk Podcast Network

The Blockspace Podcast: This New Bitcoin Proposal Would Steal Your Bitcoin

A new proposal suggests burning "spam" Bitcoin UTXOs. We explain why the "CAT" proposal is technically flawed, philosophically dangerous, and amounts to on-chain confiscation.

23 hours ago
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Today, we break down the controversial "CAT" proposal by Claire Ostrom. This idea suggests snapshotting and burning UTXOs associated with Ordinals and Stamps to curb spam. We analyze the technical flaws, the failed game theory, and why seizing user coins—even "dirty" ones—sets a dangerous precedent for Bitcoin censorship and on-chain confiscation.

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Notes:

* CAT burns UTXOs under a specific threshold

* 100 million inscriptions are likely junk

* Proposal is a soft fork consensus change

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

06:16 BIP text

08:20 Burning Bitcoin UTXOs

11:55 non-monetary UTXO? WTF?

13:10 BIP process

16:43 Coinjoined Chris' thread

21:14 Game theory

23:08 hard price floor

👋The Blockspace Podcast is produced Blockspace Media, Bitcoin’s first B2B publication in Bitcoin. Follow us on Twitter and check out our newsletter for the best information in Bitcoin mining, Ordinals and tech!

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