# Counterparty taproot envelope

URL: https://blockspace.wiki/glossary/taproot-envelope/

Counterparty v11's witness-data encoding, active from block 902,000: an `OP_FALSE OP_IF … OP_ENDIF` tapscript revealed by a commit and [reveal transaction](https://blockspace.wiki/glossary/reveal-transaction/) pair. The message, an asset's description included, travels as data pushes in the reveal's input-0 [witness](https://blockspace.wiki/glossary/witness/); the output side holds only the literal `CNTRPRTY` OP_RETURN marker. Two styles exist, the size-optimised counterparty native envelope and the [counterparty + ord](https://blockspace.wiki/glossary/counterparty-plus-ord/) envelope, and both carry [counters](https://blockspace.wiki/glossary/counter/) equally.

Before it, Counterparty messages stayed output-side and small (OP_RETURN, bare multisig, P2SH), so an asset description could not hold a file. That is why counters begin at block 902,000.

Sources:

- Bitcoin Counters build reference v3 · https://github.com/BitcoinCounters/counters/blob/HEAD/docs/build-reference-v3.md
- Counters notes · https://github.com/BitcoinCounters/counters/blob/HEAD/docs/notes.md

Updated: 2026-10-20