Bitcoin Core 23.0 is released; check the new features

Bitcoin core 23.0, the new version of Bitcoin software, was released. The tool version brings a number of new features for both wallets and peer-to-peer (P2P) users.

Bitcoin Core 23.0

Among the main novelties is support for Taproot, a change approved by the network nodes in November. There are also changes to addresses and the execution of time stamping transactions, for example.

In addition, the software has made changes to SegWit addresses (bech32 default) that make it easier to identify errors. That way, users will be less at risk of losing their BTC in a transaction.

Bitcoin Core 23.0 was developed by 132 people in about seven months to bring tangible improvements to the Bitcoin Core wallet, peer-to-peer network and communication, fee estimation, and more.

Taproot support

Taproot was an update approved in November 2021 that brings a number of improvements. With Bitcoin Core 23.0, the user will be able to create a new wallet that already has this type of address.

To use the Taproot wallet, the user simply selects this type of address in the Bitcoin Core wallet options. Then, the transaction will be carried out within the standards of the new update.

The Taproot update serves to save on transaction fees, especially those that take more than one subscription. These transactions are sent to the blockchain as a single transaction, reducing their cost and size on the network.

However, Taproot is still not the default for most wallets. So the user should be careful when choosing it as the default on BTC Core.

The Taproot address created by the Bitcoin Core wallet to send BTC is made up of a single signature. Therefore, there is only economic advantage in using them in the execution of large transactions. But by adding native support for tower addresses, Bitcoin Core takes a step in the direction of expanding the future use of Taproot.

Ease of error identification

The bech32 addresses – those that start with “BC1” – have an interesting property that allows the detection of possible typing errors. However, this property did not provide any practical benefit to users. But now, Bitcoin Core 23.0 fixes this problem.

Through a new functionality, the bug detection system has been improved in the new version. Now the user will be alerted on up to two typos. With this, will be able to correct the address and avoid loss of funds in transactions.

If more than two errors are made by the user when entering the address, the tool cannot guarantee corrections.

Currently, the tool is only available in command line function, through RPC “validateaddress”. But the developers have plans to integrate it into the main device in the future, opening it up to all users.

Frozen coins

The third novelty concerns the unspent transaction output system (UTXO). For years, users could choose which currencies they wanted to use when making a transaction. But this currency control feature required manual selection of what UTXO uses every time.

As a result, the process became cumbersome and highly error-prone. BTC Core 23.0 will bring the option to “freeze” certain coins within the UTXO, that is, make them not spend.

This freeze will allow the user to choose which currencies they do not want to spend while sending a transaction. The process is still done manually, but you only need to do it once. Coins will be stuck and will not be automatically spent by the wallet until unlocked.

The new functionality will allow users to be able to protect themselves from possible problems. For example, a user may not want to use UTXOs with BTC that they obtained through identity verification (KYC) processes. If they did, anyone will be able to see who performed the transaction, affecting the privacy of the person who performed it.