| Method                  | Description                                                              | Pros                                                                 | Cons                                                                 | Pruning Ease                     |
|-------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
| `OP_RETURN`             | Stores data in unspendable output, up to 80 bytes.                       | Standard, no UTXO set bloat, designed for pruning                    | Limited to 80 bytes, fees, may not persist in pruned nodes           | High: Prunable post-validation   |
| Dust Transactions       | Small, unspent outputs with embedded data, often left unspent.           | More data than OP_RETURN, persistent until spent                     | Bloats UTXO set, higher fees, seen as spam                               | Low: Stays in UTXO set until spent   |
| Address Encoding        | Encodes data into Bitcoin addresses, ~17 bytes.                          | No BTC spent, specific use cases                                     | Very limited size, non-standard, custom handling                     | Medium: Prunable if unspent      |
| Storing Hashes          | Stores hash (e.g., 32 bytes) on-chain, often via OP_RETURN, data off-chain. | Efficient, low cost, no UTXO set bloat                            | Off-chain data risks, accessibility issues                           | High: Prunable like OP_RETURN    |
| Non-standard Transactions | Non-standard transaction types to embed data, not widely supported.    | Flexible storage                                                     | Unsupported by many nodes, seen as spam, may be removed              | Variable: Depends on UTXO set impact |

**Citations:**

- [Bitcoin Stack Exchange: How to store data on the blockchain](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/39347/how-to-store-data-on-the-blockchain)
- [GeeksforGeeks: How to store data in blockchain](https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/how-to-store-data-in-blockchain/)
- [Merehead: How to use blockchain to store data](https://merehead.com/blog/how-to-use-blockchain-to-store-data/)
- [jSign: Storing documents with blockchain](https://www.jsign.com/blog/storing-documents-with-blockchain)
- [malcoded.com: Storing data on the blockchain](https://malcoded.com/posts/storing-data-blockchain/)