A New Bitcoin Core update is available for thin clients

The latest version of the Bitcoin Core 0.17.0 client is now available, according to developer Wladimir J. Van der Laan. The update includes new features, bug fixes, and performance improvements. It is a trial version, prior to a next final release. According to the information published by Van der Laan on GitHub, among the changes offered by this new version are improvements in the management of wallets.

The wallets now have a new format that facilitates the creation of backups. Likewise, regarding the selection of currencies when making a transaction, the new format will avoid partial expenses from different routers to the blockchain. That is, the separate payments will be accumulated in the same address to avoid that the linking of separate addresses through network analysis affects privacy.

OFFLINE VERSION FACILITATES INVESTORS

On the other hand, the inclusion of the new support format for partially signed transactions according to BIP 174 is announced. This format will facilitate the exchange of bitcoins when the transactions include several signatories. It also simplifies the process in case the user uses a hardware portfolio (cold wallet), multi-firm configurations and transactions with CoinJoin.

This update will even allow the signer to be disconnected from the Internet since it will provide all the necessary information in the transaction itself. One of the features that will be definitively eliminated in this new version is the option for miners to limit the size of their blocks, which had become obsolete in version 0.15.1. Now, the block limit will be linked to the peso, as it was established after the implementation of SegWit last year.

BITCOIN CORE PORTFOLIO HAS A NEW VERSION FOR THIN CLIENTS

Another update that will be incorporated for the official version to the Bitcoin Core portfolio is the new version for thin clients. This includes mobile phones, which will provide greater security to users through the BIP 157 protocol and its BIP 158 complement. Although the developer Jim Posen, also informed through Github, that this version already has the implementation of compact filters.

These filters allow basic purses and applications with smart contracts to be more advanced. Later Van der Laan established that they did not want to implement the last minute for this version of tests, but it is very likely that it is included in the official release. Also, from the social network Twitter, it was announced that the application was already merged into the protocol.

These applications for Bitcoin thin clients, seek to minimize the trust in the pairs as well as decrease the amount of bandwidth, storage space, and computing power required. Some users of the social network Twitter, including the developer of Jack Mallers, reacted positively to the announcement, as this update will also benefit the developments in Lightning Network.