Bitcoin Core v30.0 Released

Bitcoin Core version v30.0 introduces a range of updates, including new features, various bug fixes, performance improvements, and updated translations. This update signifies the end of maintenance for versions 27.x and older, which will no longer receive updates. The developers have disclosed that there are no medium and high severity vulnerabilities fixed in version 28.0, but five low severity vulnerabilities have been addressed in this release.

Users running older versions are advised to upgrade by shutting down their current version and then either running the installer on Windows or copying over the files on macOS or Linux. Upgrading from a version that has reached its end-of-life (EOL) is possible, albeit potentially time-consuming if data directory migration is necessary. Compatibility is ensured for operating systems using Linux Kernel 3.17+, macOS 13+, and Windows 10+. However, usage on unsupported systems is not recommended due to less frequent testing.

Among the notable changes, policy adjustments include limiting the maximum number of legacy signature operations in a single transaction to 2500 to prepare for potential future deployments. The default -datacarriersize has been increased to 100,000, allowing multiple data carrier outputs in a transaction for relay and mining. Changes in P2P and network configurations aim to improve the handling of transactions with unconfirmed parents in the mempool and enhance Denial of Service protections.

A significant introduction in this release is the bitcoin command line tool, designed to make features more accessible and convenient. This includes synonyms for existing commands and a new experimental IPC Mining Interface for interaction with Stratum v2 or other mining clients. Installation modifications are also part of this release, with certain executables now located in the libexec/ directory instead of bin/.

On the technical side, changes to the coinstatsindex implementation require re-syncing upon first use of the upgraded node. Logging practices have been adjusted to limit unconditional logging to disk, aiming to manage resources better. RPC updates include the deprecation of the -paytxfee option and the settxfee RPC, moving towards reliance on fee estimation or specifying a fee rate per transaction.

For wallet functionality, BDB legacy wallets can no longer be created or loaded, pushing users towards the newer descriptor wallet format. The GUI has transitioned to Qt 6, introducing support for dark mode on Windows and utilizing the Metal backend on macOS. Other low-level changes and acknowledgments to contributors are also highlighted, indicating a collective effort towards enhancing Bitcoin Core's functionality and security.

For further details on upgrading and the full list of changes, users are encouraged to visit the official GitHub page.