Bitcoin scan finds 96,000 fake-address outputs

• Bitquery identified 96,231 fake-address text outputs across Bitcoin’s scanned history.
• The outputs represent about 3.2 BTC and remain in Bitcoin’s unspent transaction output set.
• The study shows fake-address data creates a lasting node-state burden, unlike OP_RETURN data.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) has 96,231 fake-address text outputs in its UTXO set, according to a Bitquery scan of 965,135 blocks.

The study found 13,062 OP_RETURN transactions added text without creating spendable state, while fake-address outputs remain in the UTXO database.

Bitquery estimated the fake-address outputs contain about 3.2 BTC that is effectively unspendable because the embedded text has no known private key.

The scan also identified 4,412,782 OP_RETURN outputs containing readable text, showing how different data methods affect Bitcoin nodes.

Bitcoin Core 30.0 increased the default relay limit for OP_RETURN data, but Bitquery said its findings cannot prove the update alone caused the increase in longer messages.

The March 2026 campaign produced 13,062 transactions across 579 blocks and cost 0.1014 BTC in combined fees, although the chain does not identify its author or motive.

Bitcoin has no company share price to report, while the study highlights how fake-address data can create persistent state that nodes must retain unless those outputs are spent.

At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $80,946.48.