Bitcoin Core is the reference implementation of the Bitcoin protocol, descended from the original software published by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. It is the most widely used Bitcoin full node software, run by the majority of reachable nodes on the network. Bitcoin Core validates and relays transactions and blocks, enforcing the consensus rules that define the Bitcoin protocol.
As a full node and wallet, Bitcoin Core downloads and verifies the entire Bitcoin blockchain, providing the highest level of security and privacy for its users. The software is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Development is coordinated through a decentralized open-source process on GitHub, with hundreds of contributors over the project's history. Changes go through rigorous peer review before being merged.
Bitcoin Core development has delivered major protocol upgrades including Segregated Witness (SegWit) in 2017 and the Taproot soft fork in 2021, which improved transaction privacy, efficiency, and smart contract capabilities. The project continues to focus on performance optimization, privacy improvements, and network resilience. The codebase is maintained by a group of maintainers, with no single entity controlling the project.
Key Aspects
- Reference Implementation — The canonical Bitcoin protocol software
- Full Node — Downloads and validates the entire blockchain independently
- Open Source — Hundreds of contributors; code reviewed and auditable on GitHub
- Major Upgrades — SegWit (2017), Taproot (2021), and ongoing improvements
Developers
The profiles of the most active developers are listed below:
BIPs
New feature proposals for Bitcoin Core are submitted as Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs). BIPs are hosted on GitHub and maintained by the Bitcoin development community.
Download
Bitcoin Core is available for download from bitcoin.org.