It IS significantly harder to retrieve and view images from witness data compared to OP_RETURN data:
Witness data is embedded in Taproot script-path spends
Spread across the witness structure in a specific encoding format
Requires specialized tools/indexers (like ord software) to:
Identify which transactions contain inscriptions
Parse the witness data structure
Extract and reassemble the content
Render it as viewable media
Not straightforward with standard Bitcoin Core RPC calls
OP_RETURN Retrieval:
Data is directly in the OP_RETURN output field
Simple hex-to-binary conversion
Easy to extract with basic Bitcoin Core commands (getrawtransaction)
Straightforward to decode and view
Much more accessible to anyone, including law enforcement
Legal Liability Implications:
This is actually a crucial distinction:
Witness data: "I'm running infrastructure; the data is technically there but deeply embedded and not easily accessible"
Large OP_RETURN: "I'm storing easily retrievable files that anyone can extract with basic tools"
From a legal defense standpoint, the accessibility and ease of retrieval matters for arguments about:
"Knowing possession" vs passive infrastructure
Whether you're acting as a "host" or just network infrastructure affects the likelihood of prosecution.
In reality, some government in the world that doesn't like their banking system being circumvented will prosecute a node runner. They will put them in prison in order to make an example. Other node runners around the world will be scared and will stop thinking full nodes. Decentralisation will be sacrificed for a change that never needed to be made.
