The number of nodes on the Bitcoin network increased, setting a new all-time high. The new Bitcoin Core update could have increased interest in installing this software.
In recent days, the number of nodes on the Bitcoin network increased to set a new all-time high. Low user confidence in custodial solutions may have led to that happening.
According to data from Bitnodes.io, the number of active nodes on the network reached 11,674. However, another analytics platform, Coin.dance, indicates that they reached 11,613 nodes.
In both cases, the number of nodes exceeds the all-time high of 11,250 from last year. The release of Bitcoin Core version 0.21.0 could have contributed to new interest in installing this software.
What Has Led the Number of Bitcoin Nodes to Soar?
Another factor has also led Bitcoin nodes to increase to a record number. It is the increase in the distrust of users in custody solutions. As these are increasingly demanding, people have sought to create their nodes.
The appearance of the new Bitcoin Core update on January 14th has increased interest in installing this software. The new update has more than 619 active nodes; this represents 5.5% of all the nodes running on the network.
The previous version (0.20.1) is still the most popular since there are around 5,000 nodes in it. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that the most recent version is only a week old. It is the fourth most widely used one, which may be an indication of how big it could go.
A prominent quality of the latest version is that it is friendly to the implementation of Taproot’s consensus rules. The latter is an update to the Bitcoin network to improve many of its features. This could explain the significant increase in the number of Bitcoin nodes.
Compatibility with Taproot and Bitcoin Core Update
Taproot’s consensus rules can be compatible with version 0.21.0 without having to activate them on the mainnet. This makes it very attractive to the new Bitcoin nodes that are emerging.
Taproot is an update that will increase the security levels of transactions. It allows suppressing the visibility of “spending conditions unnecessarily exposed in previous implementations.”
Another relevant factor is the fact that some properties of the update open the door to the massification of Bitcoin. In other words, there are no longer any distinguishing features of the transactions. This can allow the pioneering cryptocurrency to become a more fungible asset.
The Hidden Tor Network Is a Priority
Since the number of Bitcoin nodes did not grow lightly, they could be largely aimed at the hidden Tor network. This is still the most dominant one since 25% of all active nodes on the Bitcoin network are on it.
For that reason, version 3 of Tor allows transactions to access many security options. For example, it is possible to add a privacy layer by hiding the IP address of the nodes.
By Alexander Salazar
