Key Takeaways
- • Galaxy Research identified 28 copies of the same three-line poem embedded in Bitcoin transactions over 12 days, with the sender's identity and motive still unknown.
- • The messages were recorded in 103-byte OP_RETURN outputs, exceeding Bitcoin's previous default relay limit of 83 bytes, according to Galaxy Research.
- • Galaxy Research found 28 deposits and 14 round trips between the sender and a custodial service, generating 8,015 satoshis in mining fees, and said the pattern does not appear to follow a conventional money-laundering pattern.
- • Three unconfirmed explanations were offered: manipulation of custodial deposit or volume metrics, an automated integration test in production, or an autonomous AI agent controlling a wallet.
- • Galaxy Research estimated the 27th duplicate would appear roughly 14 hours after the 26th, a projection conditional on the pattern continuing.
Summary
An unidentified Bitcoin user has recorded the same three-line poem on the Bitcoin blockchain 28 times in 12 days, according to Galaxy Research, the research division of crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital. The research unit highlighted the activity in a post on X on October 24, 2026, noting that the sender has repeatedly embedded the same short message in Bitcoin transactions without a confirmed explanation.
The poem reads: "thoughtless quartz clocks drift / blocks stack each a strict proof / timechain keeps score." Galaxy Research identified 26 duplicate instances before reporting that the same cryptographic keys had also been used to publish another poem twice, bringing the total of inscriptions to 28. The messages were embedded in 103-byte OP_RETURN outputs, a mechanism that allows data to be included in a transaction without treating it as spendable output. Per Galaxy Research, the 103-byte size exceeded Bitcoin's previous default relay limit of 83 bytes.
Galaxy Research said the transactions do not appear to follow a conventional money-laundering pattern. Funds have moved between the sender and a custodial service. The analysis identified 28 deposits and 14 round trips, generating 8,015 satoshis in mining fees, while the custodial service made a one-time deduction of 100,000 satoshis on October 19. These figures do not establish the sender's objective, and the individual or entity behind the activity has not been identified.
The researchers outlined three theories, none confirmed. The first is that the transactions aim to manipulate deposit metrics or transaction-volume figures associated with a custodial platform. The second is that the activity is an automated integration test running in a production environment. The third is that an autonomous artificial intelligence agent with access to a Bitcoin wallet has been instructed to carry out transactions; Galaxy Research did not provide evidence supporting this.
Galaxy Research also projected that the 27th duplicate would appear about 14 hours after the 26th, a timing estimate that depends on the existing pattern continuing and does not confirm another transaction will occur on schedule. For now, the repeated poem remains an unexplained example of data embedded in Bitcoin transactions, with the public ledger providing a record of activity but not the sender's identity or purpose.
The poem reads: "thoughtless quartz clocks drift / blocks stack each a strict proof / timechain keeps score." Galaxy Research identified 26 duplicate instances before reporting that the same cryptographic keys had also been used to publish another poem twice, bringing the total of inscriptions to 28. The messages were embedded in 103-byte OP_RETURN outputs, a mechanism that allows data to be included in a transaction without treating it as spendable output. Per Galaxy Research, the 103-byte size exceeded Bitcoin's previous default relay limit of 83 bytes.
Galaxy Research said the transactions do not appear to follow a conventional money-laundering pattern. Funds have moved between the sender and a custodial service. The analysis identified 28 deposits and 14 round trips, generating 8,015 satoshis in mining fees, while the custodial service made a one-time deduction of 100,000 satoshis on October 19. These figures do not establish the sender's objective, and the individual or entity behind the activity has not been identified.
The researchers outlined three theories, none confirmed. The first is that the transactions aim to manipulate deposit metrics or transaction-volume figures associated with a custodial platform. The second is that the activity is an automated integration test running in a production environment. The third is that an autonomous artificial intelligence agent with access to a Bitcoin wallet has been instructed to carry out transactions; Galaxy Research did not provide evidence supporting this.
Galaxy Research also projected that the 27th duplicate would appear about 14 hours after the 26th, a timing estimate that depends on the existing pattern continuing and does not confirm another transaction will occur on schedule. For now, the repeated poem remains an unexplained example of data embedded in Bitcoin transactions, with the public ledger providing a record of activity but not the sender's identity or purpose.
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