Bitcoin has seen limited changes over the past decade, with proposed updates causing controversy within the community. However, it is necessary for the protocol's future to have fundamental updates and functional second-layer applications. The process of ossification, where it becomes difficult to alter the underlying protocol due to numerous built-on applications, is a concern for Bitcoin's future.

While Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs) are a slow process, major upgrades such as Segregated Witness and Taproot have been implemented, with proposals for future upgrades including SIGHASH_ANYPREVOUT, covenants, and drivechains. The Bitcoin ecosystem is also exploring ways to develop on top of the protocol without changing the core code, such as the Lightning Network.

There is debate among Bitcoin proponents about whether the protocol should be solely for financial transactions or if it can host any type of data, and a combination of updates to the core protocol and innovative new protocols built on top of it may be the way forward.