The Bitcoin network is undergoing changes in the software choices made by node operators. Over 11% of nodes are now using Bitcoin Knots.
Trend of Growing Popularity for Bitcoin Knots
According to Coin.dance, the number of nodes using Bitcoin Knots exceeds 2500, which represents over 11% of the total 22,000 active nodes in the Bitcoin network. In contrast, Bitcoin Core, the reference client, has around 19,300 nodes, and its share is gradually declining. The rise in the popularity of Knots has become apparent since April 2025, essentially linked to how each client manages transaction policies determining which transactions nodes accept and relay.
Debates Around OP_RETURN Function and Core Updates
A key difference between the two clients is the OP_RETURN function used to embed arbitrary data into the blockchain. The current version of Bitcoin Core allows 80 bytes of data, but version 30 plans to increase this limit to 100,000 bytes. Knots, on the other hand, restricts this function's use to 42 bytes and provides tools to filter low-value transactions. This allows nodes to focus on monetary transactions and reduce the network load.
Criticism from Bitcoin Knots Developers
Luke Dashjr, the lead developer of Bitcoin Knots, actively criticized changes proposed in Core v30, viewing them as a threat to the network. He highlighted the datacarriersize parameter that eased the submission of sizeable non-monetary data and could lead to spam. Dashjr also expressed concerns about vulnerabilities related to methods that insert large amounts of non-standard data, which could overload the network.
With the increasing popularity of Bitcoin Knots, there is a growing interest in individual control over network nodes. Over time, this may change the approach to Bitcoin usage, and clients like Knots could become more preferable for those seeking stricter transaction policies.
