Overview
Table of Contents
OP_RETURN Snapshot
OP_RETURN Outputs Created
238,527,311
Payload (all)
5.03 GB
Height
958,455
Last Data Update
2026-07-17 21:28:44 UTC
First observed OP_RETURN
2013-03-29 14:18:58 UTC @
228,596
Last observed OP_RETURN
2026-07-17 21:28:36 UTC @
958,455
First observed payload >= 224 B
2013-11-05 11:23:00 UTC @
268,060
Last observed payload >= 224 B
2026-07-17 15:43:17 UTC @
958,432
Scanned blocks
958,456
Scanned Txs
1,398,863,096
(*) Tx = transaction in that block with the highest OP_RETURN payload. If tied, first transaction in block order is used.
Size Metrics
OP_RETURN payload (all)
5.03 GB
Payload in txs with >= 224 B
7.02 MB (7,015,588 B)
Payload share from txs with >= 224 B
OP_RETURN data (script)
5.71 GB
OP_RETURN output serialized
7.86 GB
Payload push overhead
684.78 MB
Definition for >=224 B metrics: a Tx qualifies if it has at least one OP_RETURN output payload >= 224 bytes.
Output Metrics
OP_RETURN outputs created
238,527,311
Outputs with payload >= 224 B
3,436
Output share >= 224 B
Txs with OP_RETURN
237,894,956
Total Tx outputs
3,831,640,049
Non-OP_RETURN outputs
3,593,112,738
OP_RETURN tx share
Time Series
OP_RETURN Data by Year
Payload bytes
Push overhead bytes
Y-axis: GB per year
By Year
CSV| Year | OP_RETURN Outputs | TXs with OP_RETURN | Payload | Script | Avg payload/output | Share | Max Payload | Blocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 57,087,164 | 56,998,188 | 951.69 MB | 1.12 GB | 16.7 B | 18.929 % | 184 KB | 28,115 |
| 2025 | 44,342,296 | 44,190,163 | 751.00 MB | 881.89 MB | 16.9 B | 14.937 % | 985 KB | 53,082 |
| 2024 | 83,164,438 | 83,087,898 | 563.37 MB | 811.52 MB | 6.8 B | 11.205 % | 80 KB | 53,473 |
| 2023 | 1,927,691 | 1,879,343 | 69.96 MB | 75.61 MB | 36.3 B | 1.391 % | 80 B | 53,999 |
| 2022 | 1,943,342 | 1,873,832 | 127.00 MB | 132.11 MB | 65.3 B | 2.526 % | 80 B | 53,188 |
| 2021 | 2,949,557 | 2,868,415 | 162.08 MB | 169.49 MB | 54.9 B | 3.224 % | 80 B | 52,686 |
| 2020 | 7,915,402 | 7,845,311 | 442.95 MB | 463.42 MB | 56.0 B | 8.810 % | 86 B | 53,222 |
| 2019 | 28,398,777 | 28,360,598 | 1.55 GB | 1.63 GB | 54.7 B | 30.906 % | 80 B | 54,232 |
| 2018 | 6,795,367 | 6,788,399 | 302.89 MB | 319.09 MB | 44.6 B | 6.024 % | 80 B | 54,498 |
| 2017 | 2,254,393 | 2,253,947 | 63.03 MB | 67.55 MB | 28.0 B | 1.254 % | 80 B | 55,928 |
| 2016 | 1,080,837 | 1,080,819 | 31.04 MB | 33.21 MB | 28.7 B | 0.617 % | 80 B | 54,851 |
| 2015 | 654,756 | 654,754 | 8.51 MB | 9.53 MB | 13.0 B | 0.169 % | 80 B | 54,321 |
| 2014 | 12,851 | 12,849 | 358.01 KB | 383.79 KB | 27.9 B | 0.007 % | 186 B | 58,865 |
| 2013 | 440 | 440 | 18.48 KB | 19.39 KB | 42.0 B | 0.000 % | 983 B | 63,433 |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 B | 0.00 B | 0.0 B | 0.000 % | 0 B | 54,526 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 B | 0.00 B | 0.0 B | 0.000 % | 0 B | 59,627 |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 B | 0.00 B | 0.0 B | 0.000 % | 0 B | 67,920 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 B | 0.00 B | 0.0 B | 0.000 % | 0 B | 32,490 |
By Subsidy Epoch
CSV| Epoch | OP_RETURN Outputs | TXs with OP_RETURN | Payload | Script | Avg payload/output | Share | Max Payload | Blocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epoch 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 B | 0.00 B | 0.0 B | 0.000 % | 0 B | 210,000 |
| Epoch 2 | 1,170,602 | 1,170,598 | 22.32 MB | 24.38 MB | 19.1 B | 0.444 % | 983 B | 210,000 |
| Epoch 3 | 42,726,155 | 42,654,440 | 2.22 GB | 2.33 GB | 51.9 B | 44.116 % | 80 B | 210,000 |
| Epoch 4 | 11,311,356 | 11,041,938 | 556.29 MB | 586.09 MB | 49.2 B | 11.064 % | 8 KB | 210,000 |
| Epoch 5 | 183,319,198 | 183,027,980 | 2.23 GB | 2.78 GB | 12.2 B | 44.376 % | 985 KB | 118,456 |
OP_RETURN Outputs by Year
OP_RETURN outputs
Y-axis: count per year
Average OP_RETURN Output Size (Payload Bytes) by Year
Y-axis: bytes per output (year)
Distribution
Bucket Distribution (log scale)
Bar length uses log10(count + 1) so long-tail buckets remain visible.
Payload Buckets
CSV| Bucket | Count | Share | First Seen (UTC) | First Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 512,921 | 0.2150 % | 2013-03-29 14:18:58 UTC | 228,596 |
| 1-40 | 204,040,770 | 85.5419 % | 2013-03-29 14:18:58 UTC | 228,596 |
| 41-75 | 5,814,018 | 2.4375 % | 2013-10-29 22:11:04 UTC | 266,766 |
| 76-80 | 28,132,432 | 11.7942 % | 2013-11-05 11:23:00 UTC | 268,060 |
| 81-223 | 23,734 | 0.0100 % | 2013-07-03 15:48:33 UTC | 244,591 |
| 224-255 | 1,496 | 0.0006 % | 2024-02-09 09:29:28 UTC | 829,644 |
| 256-1000 | 1,393 | 0.0006 % | 2013-11-05 11:23:00 UTC | 268,060 |
| 1001-10000 | 478 | 0.0002 % | 2024-01-26 21:44:26 UTC | 827,529 |
| 10001-20000 | 24 | 0.0000 % | 2024-10-30 16:52:39 UTC | 868,113 |
| 20001-40000 | 17 | 0.0000 % | 2024-11-18 03:26:28 UTC | 870,805 |
| 40001-60000 | 4 | 0.0000 % | 2024-11-18 00:31:51 UTC | 870,787 |
| 60001-80000 | 4 | 0.0000 % | 2024-11-17 06:59:15 UTC | 870,683 |
| 80001-100000 | 17 | 0.0000 % | 2025-05-10 09:14:50 UTC | 896,088 |
| 100001-200000 | 1 | 0.0000 % | 2026-05-18 18:30:04 UTC | 949,973 |
| 200001-300000 | 0 | 0.0000 % | – | – |
| 300001-400000 | 0 | 0.0000 % | – | – |
| 400001-500000 | 0 | 0.0000 % | – | – |
| 500001-600000 | 0 | 0.0000 % | – | – |
| 600001-700000 | 0 | 0.0000 % | – | – |
| 700001-800000 | 0 | 0.0000 % | – | – |
| 800001-900000 | 0 | 0.0000 % | – | – |
| 900001-1000000 | 2 | 0.0000 % | 2025-05-14 16:36:24 UTC | 896,696 |
| >1000000 | 0 | 0.0000 % | – | – |
Deep Dive
Record Milestones Timeline
Record max payload
Record max OP_RETURN outputs per tx
Milestones
CSV| Height | Time (UTC) | Type | Label | Transaction | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 244,591 | 2013-07-03 15:48:33 UTC | First in bucket 81-223 | First OP_RETURN payload in bucket 81-223 | e4d2...8595 | – |
| 228,596 | 2013-03-29 14:18:58 UTC | Record max payload | New record: max OP_RETURN payload bytes | 1a2e...93fc | 20 |
| 228,596 | 2013-03-29 14:18:58 UTC | Record max OP_RETURN outputs per tx | New record: max OP_RETURN outputs in single tx | eb31...2f29 | 1 |
| 228,596 | 2013-03-29 14:18:58 UTC | First in bucket 0 | First OP_RETURN payload in bucket 0 | eb31...2f29 | – |
| 228,596 | 2013-03-29 14:18:58 UTC | First in bucket 1-40 | First OP_RETURN payload in bucket 1-40 | 1a2e...93fc | – |
| 0 | 2009-01-03 18:15:05 UTC | Record max payload | New record: max OP_RETURN payload bytes | – | 0 |
| 0 | 2009-01-03 18:15:05 UTC | Record max OP_RETURN outputs per tx | New record: max OP_RETURN outputs in single tx | – | 0 |
Large Payload
Large Payload Activity by Month
TX count (payload >= 224 bytes)
Max payload in month (log scale)
Bars show monthly transaction count. Line shows monthly maximum payload size.
Payload Size Over Time (log scale)
Each point is one transaction with OP_RETURN payload >= 224 bytes.
Payload Size Distribution
Histogram buckets for transactions with OP_RETURN payload >= 224 bytes.
Top 20 Largest Payload Transactions with payload >= 224 bytes
Top transactions by maximum OP_RETURN payload bytes in tx.
Transactions with OP_RETURN payload >= 224 bytes
CSV| Height | Time (UTC) | Type | Label | Transaction | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 897,062 | 2025-05-17 05:57:19 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 4,136 bytes | 4cf1...c0ac | 4,136 |
| 897,062 | 2025-05-17 05:57:19 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 4,136 bytes | 5651...dd28 | 4,136 |
| 897,040 | 2025-05-17 01:53:08 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 4,136 bytes | 3dfc...a400 | 4,136 |
| 897,021 | 2025-05-16 21:51:46 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 4,136 bytes | 7c89...2fa7 | 4,136 |
| 896,948 | 2025-05-16 09:01:11 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 4,136 bytes | 154a...c429 | 4,136 |
| 896,894 | 2025-05-16 00:06:08 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 319 bytes | dddf...4250 | 319 |
| 896,836 | 2025-05-15 14:14:49 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 309 bytes | 1d8c...77a9 | 309 |
| 896,810 | 2025-05-15 09:48:13 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 346 bytes | c1b1...4c90 | 346 |
| 896,722 | 2025-05-14 21:06:26 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 984,587 bytes | b47e...59c7 | 984,587 |
| 896,696 | 2025-05-14 16:36:24 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 979,842 bytes | 516c...406b | 979,842 |
| 896,568 | 2025-05-13 16:18:34 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 1,392 bytes | 97a7...45e0 | 1,392 |
| 896,557 | 2025-05-13 14:13:11 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 252 bytes | 7b00...f085 | 252 |
| 896,530 | 2025-05-13 09:31:22 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 262 bytes | 02b7...e388 | 262 |
| 896,480 | 2025-05-13 01:22:47 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 475 bytes | f19b...4f81 | 475 |
| 896,467 | 2025-05-12 23:12:12 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 800 bytes | 6097...b3c5 | 800 |
| 896,456 | 2025-05-12 20:48:05 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 400 bytes | 4496...abe4 | 400 |
| 896,449 | 2025-05-12 19:56:10 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 400 bytes | 317a...8c9d | 400 |
| 896,334 | 2025-05-12 00:40:59 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 523 bytes | f778...b2ef | 523 |
| 896,290 | 2025-05-11 18:32:07 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 16,132 bytes | 7434...87f1 | 16,132 |
| 896,268 | 2025-05-11 14:55:35 UTC | Large payload transaction | Seen tx with OP_RETURN payload of 31,236 bytes | c5fb...3ed8 | 31,236 |