Bitcoin Core Tags 32.1 Final, Ending Support for 29.x Releases

Bitcoin Core developers published version 32.1 on GitHub on Monday, along with maintenance releases 31.2 and 30.4. The 32.1 notes say version 32.0, tagged Oct. 21, was never fully released.

The reason given is "last-minute issues," with no further detail. So 32.1 is the first build of the new major series meant for node operators. It also starts a clock: the notes say versions 29.x and older are now at "End of Life" and won't get updates.

Nodes get room for 200 peers

The default cap on automatic peer connections rises from 125 to 200. The extra room goes to inbound block-relay-only peers, which pass along blocks but not loose transactions. Peers that relay transactions can fill at most half of inbound slots by default. Operators who want the old limits can set `-maxconnections=125 -inboundrelaypercent=100`, the notes say.

Fee estimates change, too. The `estimatesmartfee` command now blends the existing block-based estimator with a new one that reads the mempool (the queue of unconfirmed transactions). The release also fixes a possible leak of a sender's IP address in the experimental private-broadcast feature, under certain Tor setups.

The 32.1 notes credit 128 contributors.

Three flaws to be disclosed in two weeks

Under the project's security policy, developers plan to disclose three medium- and high-severity vulnerabilities fixed in 30.0. The notes don't describe them yet. The 32.1 download folder on bitcoincore.org returned "not found" at 6 p.m. ET, and the site had not posted an announcement.

In our opinion: the number worth chasing is three. Those fixes go public in about two weeks, right as 29.x stops getting patches.