Most Influential: Luke Dashjr
Analysis
Price Impact
MedLuke dashjr, a highly influential veteran bitcoin developer, is at the forefront of a significant debate regarding bitcoin's core use. his strong stance against 'spam' (ordinals, runes, inscriptions) could lead to future protocol changes, impacting network fees, utility, and the developer community's direction. while not an immediate price driver, the ongoing debate creates uncertainty.
Trustworthiness
HighDashjr is a respected veteran developer, known for fixing a 2013 hard fork and maintaining bitcoin knots. his involvement in the jack dorsey-backed ocean mining pool lends further credibility and influence to his strong opinions.
Price Direction
NeutralThe ongoing debate itself introduces uncertainty into the market. while a cleaner network focused solely on financial transactions could be seen as bullish by some maximalists, restricting functionality like ordinals might be viewed negatively by others who see broader utility as valuable. the market will likely remain neutral until a clearer path or resolution emerges from this debate.
Time Effect
LongThe article explicitly states that these debates 'will continue into 2026 and beyond,' indicating a long-term discussion with potential prolonged effects on bitcoin's protocol and ecosystem.
Original Article:
Article Content:
Tech Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Most Influential: Luke Dashjr The veteran Bitcoin developer is at the forefront of one of the most hotly-discussed debates in crypto — what the original blockchain network should be used for. By Jamie Crawley | Edited by Cheyenne Ligon Dec 19, 2025, 3:00 p.m. Veteran Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr is at the forefront of one of the most hotly-discussed debates in cryptocurrency — what the original blockchain network should be used for. The advent of the Ordinals protocol in 2023, which allowed a form of NFTs to be minted on Bitcoin, and Runes a year later, which did something similar for fungible tokens, prompted calls from a number of voices — few as prominent as Dashjr’s — that they bring unnecessary spam to the Bitcoin network, distracting it from its core mission. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the The Protocol Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Dashjr's resume includes helping fix Bitcoin's accidental hard fork in 2013 and maintaining the alternative Bitcoin Knots , giving him status as a venerable developer and commentator who warns against allowing a proliferation of non-financial transactions on Bitcoin. This forms part of the controversy around the proposed changes to the blockchain's OP_RETURN , removing the 80-byte cap on data that can be attached to transactions, via "inscriptions." Dashjr called this "utter insanity," warning that loosening data restrictions would clog up the network with what he calls "spam," and detract Bitcoin from its core purpose as decentralized digital money. Dashjr's critics, however, argue that his vision of Bitcoin requires compromising its principle of immutability. Ocean, the Jack Dorsey-backed mining pool of which Dashjr is a founder, has declined to process some inscription transactions. Such debates will continue into 2026 and beyond, and it is likely that Luke Dashjr will remain one of the most prominent voices in them. Bitcoin News CoinDesk Most Influential 2025 More For You Protocol Research: GoPlus Security By CoinDesk Research Nov 14, 2025 Commissioned by GoPlus What to know : As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M. GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month. Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B. View Full Report More For You Most Influential: Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz K. Stańczak By Margaux Nijkerk | Edited by Cheyenne Ligon 1 minute ago The Ethereum Foundation’s new leaders hope to bring in a new era for the second-largest cryptocurrency. Read full story Latest Crypto News Most Influential: Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz K. Stańczak 1 minute ago Most Influential: The Solana Developers 1 minute ago Most Influential: Stani Kulechov 1 minute ago DraftKings enters prediction markets with CFTC-approved app for real-world events 6 minutes ago Wall Street bank JPMorgan says stablecoin market could grow to $600 billion by 2028 7 minutes ago CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: Index Jumps 4.6% as All Constituents Trade Higher 47 minutes ago Top Stories Bitcoin gains as yen surprisingly tumbles after BOJ rate hike: Crypto Daybook Americas 2 hours ago Jump Trading sued for $4 billion in connection to Do Kwon’s Terra Labs collapse: WSJ 3 hours ago Coinbase files lawsuits in 3 states over attempts to regulate prediction markets 4 hours ago Re-litigating the GENIUS Act Brings Risk and No Rewards 1 hour ago What if crypto's U.S. market structure effort just never gets there? 19 hours ago Senate confirms Trump crypto-friendly nominees to take over CFTC, FDIC 13 hours ago