The Bitcoin (BTC) network needs a “conservative” Bitcoin client node software implementation to preserve its monetary properties and strengthen network decentralization, according to Jimmy Song, co-founder of ProductionReady, a non-profit organization funding open source Bitcoin node software development and education.
The organization has a “bias” against significant code changes, unless there is “overwhelming” community support for the change, Song told Cointelegraph.
“The general principle is: if you’re not sure a change makes the money better, don’t make it,” he said.
The number of Bitcoin nodes, broken down by software implementation, between 2016 and 2026. Source: Coin Dance
ProductionReady expects to restore the 83-byte OP_Return data limit for arbitrary, non-monetary information in Bitcoin transactions, he said, adding that keeping node storage costs down by limiting arbitrary data is essential to network decentralization. He said:
“The more self-sovereign Bitcoin users are, the more decentralized and resilient the network becomes. That means keeping the cost of running a node low enough for ordinary people to do it.
“When storage and bandwidth requirements grow, fewer people verify for themselves, and the network centralizes by default. A conservative client takes that tradeoff seriously,” Song continued.
Maximizing nodes and making them accessible to the average user hardens the Bitcoin network, reducing the chances of cheating by submitting false transactions or a few actors colluding to centralize the network.
Bitcoin Core continues to be the software of choice for node runners, with 77.8% of the network running some version of the Core software and 21.8% running Bitcoin Knots. Source: Coin Dance
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