The recent update to the Bitcoin Core client, version 30, has established itself as one of the most adopted clients by node operators on the Bitcoin network.
Less than three weeks after its October 12 launch, it’s already in use For approximately 2,000 nodescorresponding to 8.1% of the total.
Thus, v30 is positioned as follows. 4th most popular version in Bitcoinis close to v28.1 and is currently the most used with 2,689 nodes (11.3%).
This accelerated adoption occurs in the context of technical and philosophical disputes between developers and ecosystem collaborators, known as the “node wars.”
In this conflict, some in the Bitcoiner community believe that the latest core update expanded the registration field to 100,000 bytes, thereby encouraging “spamming”. opcode OP_RETURN, what Extend network files For non-monetary transactions.
Those on Core’s side claimed to be supportive. Freedom to define how users interact with Bitcoinemphasized that this autonomy protects the network.
Some changes in the trend of Bitcoin core nodes
Currently, of the 23,646 active nodes, approximately 18,662 correspond to Bitcoin Core (approximately 79%) and approximately 5,000 nodes work with Bitcoin Knot (21%). The rest belongs to other implementations.
What is surprising is that with the release of Core v30, A slight correction in the downtrend This has increased the number of Bitcoin Core node operators.
As shown in the image below (yellow line), runners for all versions of that client have increased since early October.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin Knots (green line) has gained sustained traction since April last year, reaching up to 20% of the network in September as reported by CriptoNoticias, leading to an increase in total node count (black line) along with recent Core v30 growth.
Therefore, the evolution in version distribution shows that competition between clients is still active.

