Bitcoin Core 25.0 Release: New Features & Enhancements

Bitcoin Core version 25.0 has been out, bringing a host of new features, bug fixes, and performance enhancements. Notably, the mempool and relay policy now allows transactions of non-witness size 65 bytes and above. This change aims to improve the protection against CVE-2017-12842 and expand the possibilities for smaller transaction sizes.

To upgrade to the latest version, users should follow these steps: shut it down completely if running an older version. Then, on Windows, run the installer; on macOS, copy over /Applications/Bitcoin-Qt; and on Linux, copy over bitcoind/bitcoin-qt. It is possible to upgrade from an end-of-life version, but migrating the data directory may require additional time. Generally, Bitcoin Core generally supports older wallet versions, which is worth noting.

Bitcoin Core undergoes extensive testing and receives support on operating systems like Linux, macOS 10.15+, Windows 7, and newer. While it should also work on other Unix-like systems, it is not as frequently tested and not recommended for unsupported systems.

Supported Operating Systems for Bitcoin Core

Several notable changes have been introduced in this version. One important change is the allowance of transactions of non-witness size 65 bytes and above by the mempool and relay policy. This change enhances the protection against CVE-2017-12842 and enables new use cases for smaller transaction sizes.

New RPCs have been added as well. The scan blocks RPC facilitates the retrieval of relevant block hashes from a set of descriptors by scanning all block filters within a given range. Users can use this RPC in conjunction with other RPCs like “get block header” and “rescan-blockchain” to achieve faster wallet rescans. It requires constructing a compact block filter index (-blockfilterindex=1) by the node.

Additionally, existing RPCs have also been updated. All JSON-RPC methods now accept a newly named parameter called args, allowing the passing of positional parameter values conveniently. This change simplifies parameter naming, improving the Python test framework and bitcoin-cli tool’s usability.

Certain RPCs now include the addition of the min conf and maxconf options, enabling users to specify the minimum and a maximum number of confirmations for spent UTXOs. The list-unspent RPC now includes the option to include coinbase UTXOs that don’t meet the minimum spend ability depth requirement.

GUI Changes: Enhancements

Moreover, the GUI has seen some changes too. The “Mask values” option is now persistent and affects both the “Overview” and “Transaction” views.

The JSON-RPC server now rejects requests with duplicate parameter names, ensuring that it does not silently overwrite earlier parameter values. The list since block RPC now accepts an optional label argument to fetch incoming transactions with a specific label.

However, these are just a few highlights from the extensive list of Bitcoin Core version 25.0 changes. Users are encouraged to explore the full release notes to understand the complete range of improvements and new features.

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