Bitcoin Core v29.3 Released

This release incorporates a variety of enhancements including bug fixes, performance improvements, and updated translations. Users are encouraged to report any issues encountered using the GitHub issue tracker provided.

For those upgrading from an older version of Bitcoin Core, it is recommended to first shut down the existing version completely before proceeding with the installation of the new version. The upgrade process supports direct updates from versions of Bitcoin Core that have reached their end of life (EOL), although users may experience delays if a data directory migration is necessary. Furthermore, old wallet versions remain supported by this release.

Bitcoin Core 29.3 has been tested and is supported on Linux Kernel 3.17+, macOS 13+, and Windows 10+ operating systems. While it may operate on other Unix-like systems, these are not tested as frequently and using Bitcoin Core on unsupported systems is not recommended.

Significant changes in this version include updates to the peer-to-peer network, specifically modifications to how peers are treated in relation to consensus-invalid transactions and the removal of certain P2P nodes from the network's DNS seed list. Validation improvements introduce a sighash midstate cache for various script types and enhance detection of witness stripping without necessitating re-runs of script checks.

The wallet functionality sees several updates aimed at identifying transactions that spend 0-value outputs, adding tests for anchor outputs, addressing migration failures, and refining the process for creating wallets from dumps. Additionally, fixes have been made to address issues related to wallet migration and cleanup.

On the mining front, a bug fix addresses an unsigned integer overflow in the addPackageTxs function. The build system also sees improvements, particularly in fixing tests for osslsigncode within the Guix system. Documentation has been updated to include dependencies for capnproto and libmultiprocess in version 29.x, alongside adjustments to testing log rate limits and miscellaneous continuous integration (CI) enhancements.

Contributors to this release span a wide range of individuals, highlighting the collaborative effort behind Bitcoin Core's ongoing development. This update underscores the project's commitment to enhancing security, usability, and performance for its user base.