By Alicia Maher
There is a new update to the Bitcoin Core undergoing a test. It is already in the release candidate stage. It might be the market sometime in the future.
Expert Analysis
Sjors Provoost and Aaron van Wirdum talked about the Bitcoin update. They were their show “Bitcoin, Explained.”
The Bitcoin Core team works on a major update about every six months. It helps maintain the security and novelty of the software. The 24th major update is now in the release candidate stage.
The release candidate stage means it is being tested. Importantly, it might be released anytime soon. It is, however, stated that this release might last for some weeks.
Provoost and van Wirdum talked about some significant changes in Bitcoin Core 24.0. The changes include how blocks are downloaded when synchronized with the network.
Previous versions began by downloading just block headers to ensure sufficient proof-of-work. The downloaded blocks must have all necessary proof-of-work.
But the coming Bitcoin Core 24.0 will not store those block headers initially. This will help the network prevent a type of exhaustion attack.
Provoost and van Wirdum stated further that it should finally permit the removal of checkpoints. The codebase of Bitcoin Core has those obstructive checkpoints.
Easier Usage
The duo went on to explain further additions to the expected Bitcoin Core 24.0. It has a feature for users to apply complete replace-by-fee logic.
Nodes on Bitcoin Core use the first-seen logic until now. It means transactions that conflict don’t get accepted in the memory pool. They also don’t get sent to peers.
These will now be possible with the coming upgrade on 24.0. Users can make nodes take conflicting transactions and send them to peers. They would simply have to add a higher charge than earlier transactions with the conflict.
Other features in the upgrade were also touched on by Provoost and van Wirdum. They include the tool that would enable the descriptor wallet migration of legacy wallets. It also includes support for the initial miniscript and using replace-by-fee by default.
Others include a better selection algorithm for unspent transaction output. It creates a random change output amount for more privacy. It also has a “send-all” feature to expend a specific set of unspent transaction output.