26.0 (7 December 2023; 5 months ago (2023-12-07)) [±]
Repository
github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin
Written in
C++
Operating system
Linux, Windows, macOS
Type
Cryptocurrency
License
MIT License
Website
bitcoincore.org
Bitcoin Core is free and open-source software that serves as a bitcoin node (the set of which form the Bitcoin network) and provides a bitcoin wallet which fully verifies payments. It is considered to be bitcoin's reference implementation.[1] Initially, the software was published by Satoshi Nakamoto under the name "Bitcoin", and later renamed to "Bitcoin Core" to distinguish it from the network.[2] It is also known as the Satoshi client.[3] Bitcoin Core includes a transaction verification engine and connects to the Bitcoin network as a full node.[3]
The software validates the entire blockchain, which includes all bitcoin transactions ever. This distributed ledger, which has reached more than 558.5 gigabytes (not including database indexes) in size as of March 2024,[4] must be downloaded or synchronized before full participation of the client may occur.[3] Bitcoin Core includes a scripting language inspired by Forth that can define transactions and specify parameters.[5]
The original creator of the bitcoin client has described their approach to the software's authorship as it being written first to prove to themselves that the concept of purely peer-to-peer electronic cash was valid and that a paper with solutions could be written. The lead developer is Wladimir J. van der Laan, who took over the role on 8 April 2014.[6] Gavin Andresen was the former lead maintainer for the software client. Andresen left the role of lead developer for bitcoin to work on the strategic development of its technology.[6] Bitcoin Core in 2015 was central to a dispute with Bitcoin XT, a competing client that sought to increase the blocksize.[7]
Over a dozen different companies and industry groups fund the development of Bitcoin Core.[citation needed] In 2019, MIT announced donations of $900,000 would be used to fund the Digital Currency Initiative, which would mainly go to developers of Bitcoin Core.[8]
^Antonopoulos, Andreas (2017). "3". Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain (2nd ed.). O'Reilly Media. ISBN 978-1491954386. Bitcoin Core is the reference implementation of the bitcoin system, meaning that it is the authoritative reference on how each part of the technology should be implemented. Bitcoin Core implements all aspects of bitcoin, including wallets, a transaction and block validation engine, and a full network node in the peer-to-peer bitcoin network.
^"Bitcoin Core version 0.9.0 released". Bitcoin Core. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
^ abcAntonopoulos, Andreas M. (2014). Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Cryptocurrencies. O'Reilly Media, Inc. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-1491902646. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
^Antonopoulos, Andreas (29 May 2013). "Bitcoin is a money platform with many APIs". Radar. O'Reilly. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
^ abPreukschat, Alex; Josep Busquet (2015). Bitcoin: The Hunt of Satoshi Nakamoto. Europe Comics. p. 87. ISBN 9791032800201. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^Maria Bustillos (25 August 2015). "Inside the Fight Over Bitcoin's Future". New Yorker. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
^"MIT Announces $900,000 Bitcoin Developer Fund". Inc. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
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achieved significant attention within the bitcoin community in mid-2015 amid a contentious debate among core developers over increasing the block size...
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roadmap – Schnorr signatures and signature aggregation". bitcoincore.org. BitcoinCore. 23 March 2017. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved...
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