Bitcoin Core’s New Update Changes Everything – But There’s a Catch

Bitcoin Core, the official software powering the Bitcoin network, has released a new major update candidate, v29.0rc2. According to the Bitcoin development team, this release brings significant changes affecting network operations, mining behavior, and wallet systems.

The second version builds upon v28.0 that Bitcoin introduced in October 2024. Users can access testing versions of this release which contains multiple security and performance-enhancing protocol upgrades.

Ephemeral dust serves as the primary feature of this release by establishing a mempool policy for dust outputs that needs to be fee-free for transaction acceptance. All unconfirmed outputs and the new ephemeral dust must be grouped together into one transaction package for spending purposes. Such a requirement enhances complexity for handling outputs while enforcing firm restrictions on their management.

Additionally, Bitcoin Core will now refuse to start if the configured weight limit is set below 2,000 units. This requirement acts as a safeguard against improper configuration and ensures network stability.

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Core Network Protocol, Wallet Tools, and Developer Functions See Strategic Overhaul

Beyond mining and mempool changes, the new release introduces multiple upgrades in the network’s peer-to-peer communication layer. These enhancements aim to reduce latency, improve data propagation, and handle edge cases in block and transaction validation more efficiently.

Developers will access improved backend system interaction through newly updated Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) in the system. The blockchain data accessibility for external programs has been enhanced through the betterment of REST APIs.

Bitcoin wallet operators have experienced structural changes to their system. The graphical user interface received better usability improvements with the replacement of Autotools for CMake building tools. The latest CMake version 3.22 requirement creates compatibility with modern software development systems.

The introduction of a new Conversion tool enables users to convert compact-serialized UTXO snapshots to SQLite3 database structures. A newly introduced utility improves blockchain data management which makes it beneficial for developers who need succinct storage systems.

The release candidate is now open for public testing. Feedback from developers and node operators will play a crucial role in finalizing the stable release.

Conclusion

Bitcoin Core v29.0rc2 introduces changes that could alter how transactions and mining are managed. But new rules like ephemeral dust may present challenges for users adapting to the update.

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