An anonymous Bitcoin user inscribed the complete text of the U.S. Constitution onto the Bitcoin blockchain late Thursday, May 29, 2026. The 44.4 kilobyte transaction cost approximately $83.41 in fees and was made possible through Bitcoin's OP_RETURN output field, which previously had a byte limit until a change last year removed the cap. The act follows a broader trend of on-chain inscriptions that peaked during a major craze in 2023, though no one has publicly claimed responsibility for etching the historic American document onto the immutable blockchain.
Anonymous User Pays $83.41 to Inscribe 44.4 KB Constitution Text
The 44.4 kilobyte transaction cost the user around $83.41 in transaction fees, according to a blockchain explorer. By comparison, other simpler Bitcoin transactions around the same time—such as a transfer of around 0.01 BTC—registered at just 227 bytes, or around 0.5% of the size of the inscription. Even when overpaying by more than 105x, that transaction cost just $17, or about 20% of the Constitution's etching.
The inscription was made using Bitcoin's OP_RETURN output field, which allows users to attach information to transactions. Previously, that field had a byte limit, but a change last year removed the cap, enabling the large inscription. The change was a hotly contested subject among Bitcoin developers and was debated for months by those close to the network. Supporters viewed it as an enhancement allowing the Bitcoin network to support more use cases, while detractors called it a shift in the original ethos of the network from financial transactions to data storage. Since the byte limit removal, a proposal has been made to deal with arbitrary data.
Bitcoin Inscriptions Peaked During 2023 Mempool Surge
Inscriptions are not new to Bitcoin, which was swept up in a major craze in 2023 when the trend had grown so strong that the mempool reached its highest point since data had been collected. Prior to that craze, significant interest in Bitcoin Ordinals—the equivalent of NFTs on Bitcoin—led to major debates about blockspace as Bitcoin transaction fees rose and congestion led to massive unconfirmed transaction counts.
Similar to the Constitution inscription, Bitcoin's Ordinals standard led to the inscription of images, text, games, and audio on the Bitcoin blockchain. For example, a social media post from the compromised account of former SEC Commissioner Gary Gensler approving Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 has been inscribed on the network.
ConstitutionDAO Raised $45 Million in 2021 Auction Attempt
The crypto world already has a history with the U.S. Constitution, which was signed a little more than one year after America declared its independence in 1776. In 2021, ConstitutionDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) or collective of users with a shared goal, raised more than $45 million in the hopes of winning a rare copy of the document via auction. The now-defunct organization lost out to billionaire Ken Griffin.
FAQ
What did the anonymous Bitcoin user inscribe on May 29, 2026?
An anonymous Bitcoin user inscribed the complete text of the U.S. Constitution onto the Bitcoin blockchain using a 44.4 kilobyte transaction that cost approximately $83.41 in fees.
How was the Constitution inscription made possible on Bitcoin?
The inscription was made using Bitcoin's OP_RETURN output field, which allows users to attach information to transactions. A change last year removed the previous byte limit on this field, enabling the large 44.4 kilobyte inscription.
What happened during Bitcoin's 2023 inscription craze?
Bitcoin was swept up in a major inscription craze in 2023 when the trend grew so strong that the mempool reached its highest point since data had been collected. Significant interest in Bitcoin Ordinals led to debates about blockspace as transaction fees rose and congestion caused massive unconfirmed transaction counts.
