00:00Bitcoin has always been more than just code. It's a levying network, a social consensus,
00:04and a tug-of-war between different visions of what this technology should be.
00:08At the heart of that tug-of-war is the software we run. And for most of Bitcoin's history,
00:12one piece of software has been dominant, Bitcoin Core. Core is the reference client.
00:17The software that defines the rules, maintains the consensus, and anchors the network.
00:22For years, the vast majority of Bitcoin nodes have run it, making Core the defective steward
00:25of Bitcoin's code. But in 2025, something unusual happened. A different client of BitcoinNOTS
00:31suddenly exploded in popularity. In just a few months, its share of the network grew 6-fold,
00:36from a few hundred nodes to almost 3,000. At its peak, NOTS represented nearly one out of every
00:41six Bitcoin nodes online. And it wasn't a random spike. This growth happened right before the
00:46release of Bitcoin Core version 30, a release that introduced one of the most controversial
00:50policy changes in use. So why did BitcoinNOTS grow so much, so fast? And what does it tell
00:55us about the future of Bitcoin? To understand, we need to look back.
00:59Chapter 1, the ghosts of past client wars. Bitcoin has seen client wars before.
01:04In 2015, BitcoinNOTS emerged. It was a fork of core that raised the block size limit from
01:09one megabyte to it. Supporters argued it was necessary to scale Bitcoin's transaction capacity.
01:15Predixx warned it would centralize the network by making nodes more expensive to run.
01:18XD gained traction, but also fierce resistance. The community fractured, and by 2016, XD was effectively
01:25dead. Next came Bitcoin Classic, then Bitcoin Unlimited each trying to push block size increases,
01:30each collapsing under the weight of controversy, politics, and bugs.
01:34Through all of this, one lesson became clear, the software you run is a vote. A signal to the network
01:39about what kind of Bitcoin you believe in. And for years Bitcoin Core stood and challenged.
01:43Chapter 2, the spark of BitcoinNOTS. BitcoinNOTS isn't new. It's been around since 2011, maintained by
01:50Luke Dasher, one of Bitcoin's longest-serving developers. Unlike Core, NOTS is designed to be
01:54more flexible. It includes advanced policy settings that let node operators fine-tune their behavior.
02:00For most of its history, NOTS was niche-run by developers, tinkerers, or people who wanted extra control.
02:05But in 2025, they changed. And the trigger was Bitcoin Core V30.
02:10Chapter 3, the OpReturn Storm. Version 30 of Core introduced a fundamental shift in policy.
02:15For years, OpReturn, the output that lets you embed data into Bitcoin transactions,
02:19was capped at 80 bytes, and only one OP return output was allowed per transaction.
02:23This kept arbitrary data small, ensuring Bitcoin's blockchain wasn't co-opped with spam.
02:28But Core V30 removed that limit. Multiple OP return outputs were now permitted.
02:32And the data carrier size setting was redefined in a way that allowed transactions to pack and
02:36find more data. In theory, almost 4MB of non-monetary junk could now flow into the memble.
02:42Supporters of the change argued that Bitcoin is permissionless, people should be free to use it
02:46however they want. Developers shouldn't impose artificial limits. But critics saw it differently.
02:51They warned that this opened the door to blockchain bloats, spam, and even illegal data being embedded
02:55in the chain. For them, Bitcoin wasn't meant to be a data storage system. It was money.
03:00Hero and simple. Chapter 4, Notts as a pro-tists. That's when Bitcoin Notts took center stage.
03:07Notts offered what Core no longer did strict controls. Node operators could reject transactions
03:11they considered spam. They could block excessive OP return data. They could strip out the junk and
03:16keep their membles lean. It wasn't just a technical difference. It was ideological. Running Notts became
03:23a way of saying, we don't agree with Core's direction. And the numbers prove it. From under 400
03:28nodes early in the year, Notts grew to nearly 3000 by mid-minutes 2025. That's more than 15% of the
03:34network. A level of adoption not seen by any alternative clients since the block size was of 2015.
03:40Chapter 5, The Meaning of Multiple Clients. Now, let's be clear. Core and Notts still follow the
03:46same consensus rules. They both validate blocks and transactions according to Bitcoin's protocol.
03:51This isn't a chain split. But it is a policy split. And in Bitcoin, policy matters. Policy determines
03:58what your node relays. What it stores. What it prioritizes. And enough divergence in policy can
04:04create friction where groups of nodes simply stop talking to each other. Some worry this could lead
04:09to a soft partition of the network where different clusters of nodes operate in semi-isolation.
04:13Not a full fork, but a subtle weakening of Bitcoin's cohesion. Others see it as healthy
04:18pluralism. A safeguard against monoculture. If everyone runs Core, then Core's developers
04:23hold too much influence. By diversifying clients, the network decentralizes not just its hash power,
04:28not just its ownership, but also its software. Chapter 6, The Road Ahead.
04:33So why did Bitcoin Notts grow before Core V30? Because thousands of node operators wanted more control.
04:38They wanted to resist the flood of arbitrary data. They wanted to keep Bitcoin focused on being money.
04:44For some, it was about performance, leaner mempools, faster syncing, cleaner bandwidth.
04:49For others, it was about principle a statement that Bitcoin is too important to be left to one
04:53software team. The rise of Notts is a reminder that Bitcoin isn't just code. It's a conversation.
04:59A negotiation between thousands of independent operators, each running the software they believe in.
05:04And that's what makes it resilient. As Core V30 rolls out,
05:07and as Notts cements its place as a viable alternative, one thing is clear, the future
05:11of Bitcoin will not be dictated by a single client. It will be shaped by the people who run it.
05:16The question now is simple, will Bitcoin Notts remain a protest client?
05:20Or is this the beginning of a lasting balance of power of future when multiple strong clients
05:23keep each other in check, ensuring that no one group can stay Bitcoin alone?
05:27Only time will tell. But one thing is certain, in 2025,
05:31nerd operators sent a message loud and clear. Bitcoin is not just Core. Bitcoin is choice.
05:37So?
05:52It's more than just an indication.
05:54Let's talk to fantastic,
05:55big- amidst are possible defense contracts can be stopped,
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