Bitcoin enthusiasts have been keeping a close eye on the development of the new Core software client. Earlier today, the latest version was released, which includes the first soft fork to increase the block size. No significant changes are made in this “maintenance update”, but things are moving in the right direction.
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Bitcoin Core 0.12.1 Is Here
Developers around the world are always working on improving the Bitcoin, software client. Most people use Bitcoin Core, and the associated development team has taken the first step towards increasing the block size shortly. Although no significant change has been made with this release, the first soft fork for the capacity increases is now live on the network.
As part of this soft fork, three different BIPs will be activated. Combining all of these features leads to the so-called “CSV” deployment, and signalling will start on May 1st, 2016 at midnight. There is still a long way to go before the block size increase will go into effect, though, as more development is needed.
But there is more to this Bitcoin Core release than just the soft fork, as it is now possible to freeze coins for a particular amount of time. This change is made possible thanks to Mark Friedenbach, who came up with a way to improve the Bitcoin scripting language. This change will affect bi-=directional payment channel, including the Lightning Network.
Moreover, the activation of BIP9 will be a significant milestone in the development of Bitcoin Core. Keeping in mind how this code allows for up to 29 parallel soft forks at the same time, new features can be added at an accelerated pace. This is music to the ears of many Bitcoin enthusiasts, as it will drive future innovation for the Bitcoin Core client.
No other significant changes were part of this release, and the Bitcoin block size debate is far from settled. That being said, things are moving in the right direction, which is positive news all across the board. It will be interesting to see how the Bitcoin Core client will evolve from here on out.
Source: Bitcoin Core
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