Early Bitcoin and the well-known Cypherpunk Jameson Lopp raised concerns about the obvious control of Bitcoin Core, the largest Bitcoin (BTC) node client software. At the same time, there are problems with alternatives.
Bitcoin Core: The advantage is bad, but alternatives are plagued by “major issues,” says Jameson Ropp.
The 96% advantage of Bitcoin Core, the biggest software client for running Bitcoin (BTC) nodes, was “not optimal” by Casa CTO Jameson Lopp, who pointed out on X on May 2, 2025.
The freedom of a node operator is to choose the implementation to execute. The fact that 96% of nodes run Bitcoin core is not optimal.
However, most options have major issues. They tend to be maintained only by one developer without valuation or without peer review.
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– Jameson Race (@lopp) May 2, 2025
At the same time, alternative exotic clients are not maintained or curated by one developer. This makes the software vulnerable to bugs as there are no peer reviews by other developers.
Floresta is a lightweight Bitcoin full node implementation written in Rust, and the Golang implementation BTCD is the most developed alternative to Bitcoin Core.
As of today, 96.99% of all Bitcoin (BTC) nodes are running on Bitcoin core clients, while 2.72% relies on Bitcoin Knots, the software that is being modified and maintained by Luke Dashjr. BTCD (Bitcoin Suite) is responsible for 0.29% of the nodes, and exotic clients are installed on 0.04% of the validator computer.
A Bitcoin Node Software Client is a program that connects to a Bitcoin network and validates transactions and blocks according to protocol rules. It helps to decentralize and secure the network by sharing data with other nodes and optionally storing the entire blockchain.
Bitcoin Core on Nault Fire: 2014 Op_return Wars is back
The developers of Bitcoin Core, the dominant node software client, have been criticized as conservative and inactive, U.Today previously reported.
Recently, Satoshi’s top candidate Peter Todd suggested lifting the limits on op_return data output size to make Bitcoin (BTC) more flexible and adjusting it to suit the launch of the L2 solution.
This indicator has sparked controversy for years. Some bitcoiners think that no limit is necessary, but their opponents treat it as a form of spam resistance.
The most stubborn Bitcoin (BTC) purists argue that such changes could turn the biggest code into yet another Altcoin. Also, Bitcoin’s L2 may siphon down the liquidity and users of the underlying chain, just as the EVM network did to Ethereum (ETH).
