Bitcoin Core: Jameson Lopp states that while the dominance of Bitcoin Core is not ideal, alternatives also face 'significant issues.'
Bitcoin Core under fire: The OP_RETURN controversy of 2014 resurfaces
Early Bitcoin developer and notable cypherpunk Jameson Lopp expressed concerns about the obvious dominance of Bitcoin Core—the largest Bitcoin (BTC) node client software. Meanwhile, alternatives also face issues.
Bitcoin Core: Jameson Lopp states that while the dominance of Bitcoin Core is not ideal, alternatives also face 'significant issues.'
Jameson Lopp, CTO of Casa, pointed out on X on May 2, 2025, that the 96% dominance of the leading Bitcoin (BTC) node software client Bitcoin Core is 'not optimal.' He also acknowledged that the specific version of Bitcoin (BTC) node client chosen depends on the validators.
Node operators have the freedom to choose how they run their implementations. 96% of nodes running Bitcoin Core is, in my view, not an ideal state.
However, most alternatives have a major issue: they are often unmaintained or maintained by only one developer, lacking peer review.
At the same time, alternative singular clients are either unmaintained or curated by a single developer. The lack of peer review from other developers makes them susceptible to vulnerabilities.
Lopp believes that Floresta (a lightweight Bitcoin full node implementation written in Rust) and the Golang implementation btcd are the most mature alternatives to Bitcoin Core.
As of now, 96.99% of Bitcoin (BTC) nodes run on the Bitcoin Core client, while 2.72% of nodes rely on the modified and maintained software Bitcoin Knots by Luke Dashjr. Btcd (also known as Bitcoin Suite) accounts for 0.29% of nodes, while 0.04% of validator computers have the singular client installed.
Bitcoin node software clients are programs that connect to the Bitcoin network to verify transactions and blocks according to protocol rules. By sharing data with other nodes and selectively storing the entire blockchain, they help maintain the network's decentralization and security.
Bitcoin Core under fire: The OP_RETURN controversy of 2014 resurfaces
According to U.Today's previous reports, the developers of the mainstream node software client Bitcoin Core have been criticized for being too conservative and inactive.
Recently, Satoshi's top candidate Peter Todd proposed lifting the size limit on OP_RETURN data outputs to make Bitcoin (BTC) more flexible and better suited for launching Layer-2 solutions.
This metric has been controversial for years: some Bitcoin users believe the limit is unnecessary, while their opponents see it as a way to combat spam.
The staunchest Bitcoin (BTC) purists claim that such changes could turn the largest cryptocurrency into yet another altcoin. Additionally, Bitcoin's Layer-2 could siphon liquidity and users from the underlying chain, similar to what EVM networks have done to Ethereum (ETH).