Bitcoin Knots, initially introduced by programmer Luke Dashjr in the early 2010s, has consistently provided a more adjustable and policy-neutral option compared to Core.
At present, the majority of nodes utilize the Bitcoin Core client to support the Bitcoin ecosystem. Nevertheless, Bitcoin Knots has experienced remarkable growth of 638% since the beginning of the year, rising from merely 394 nodes to 2,909 nodes as of June 19. This substantial growth rate started seeing significant increases in May and now constitutes 13.24% of all nodes that support the Bitcoin network.
The recent surge in Bitcoin Knots’ popularity indicates that a considerable portion of Bitcoin’s infrastructure operators no longer have faith in Core to unilaterally determine Bitcoin’s limitations.
This isn’t merely technical disagreement; it’s ideological.
The last time node counts fluctuated this drastically was in 2017, right before the SegWit2x confrontation. Back then, disputes regarding block size and miner authority split the network into Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.
Currently, another divide might be emerging. Rather than block sizes, it’s about the essence of the protocol, and it could significantly affect price stability and adoption by the end of the year.
Has Bitcoin Knots transitioned from the outskirts to the forefront?
Bitcoin Knots originated as a power-user fork of Core, incorporating patches, features, and policy adjustments that were deemed too controversial or premature for mainstream acceptance. It fluctuated between 50 and 200 active nodes for the majority of its existence, acting as a testing ground for cautious developers skeptical of Core’s dominance.
From March 2016 until early 2022, node counts hardly exceeded 200. Even during the Ordinals rush in 2023, when BRC-20 tokens and Bitcoin-based inscriptions stressed blockspace and incited fresh debates over Bitcoin’s purpose, Knots only momentarily climbed above 1,000 nodes before reverting.
Then late 2024 arrived. As whispers of an OP_RETURN cleanup within Core began to emerge, wrapped in terms about pruning, feed efficiency, and mempool care, Knots usage began to rise. By early 2025, it had tripled. By June 19, 2025, it reached 2,909, with growth still accelerating.
Related: Accelerating OP_CAT on Bitcoin could incur considerable security risks
The communicated sentiment behind the statistics is unmistakable. A significant group of Bitcoin’s most technical participants disavows Core’s moral superiority. Where it was previously assumed that Bitcoin Core represented Bitcoin itself, there is a rising demand for pluralism and possibly even open resistance.
Bitcoin divide in October 2025?
Tensions heightened on June 6, when Bitcoin Core developers released a statement indicating a shift towards a “minimally permissive” relay policy. The announcement avoided specific terminologies such as OP_RETURN or Ordinals, but its implications were unmistakable. Under this new approach, Core clients may soon cease relaying non-standard transactions by default, even when those transactions comply with Bitcoin’s consensus guidelines. Critics contend that this policy threatens Bitcoin’s neutrality by enforcing a subjective view of what types of activities should be permitted on the network.
Core’s proposed modifications, expected in October 2025, include more restrictive management of OP_RETURN, the opcode that allows arbitrary data embedding in Bitcoin transactions. While this opcode has traditionally been limited to 80 bytes and discouraged in practice, it has supported everything from token issuance through Omni and Counterparty to NFT-style Ordinals in recent years.
Some developers argue that these transactions bloat the blockchain, hinder financial transactions, and should be deprioritized. Meanwhile, others assert that selectively disabling or penalizing them contradicts Bitcoin’s principle of neutrality. If a transaction complies with consensus standards and pays a competitive fee, it ought to be relayed and mined.
Knots, notably, do not apply these policy-level filters unless specifically configured. Its ascension indicates that the narrative regarding Core’s non-neutrality is gaining momentum. In other words, Bitcoin’s policy layer, which was once quietly governed by a small group of Core maintainers, is now being challenged by a rising number of nodes transitioning to Knots.
Related: Bitcoin update aims to elevate data limit on controversial OP_RETURN function
This scenario has not yet escalated to a hard fork, but it is moving in that direction. The 2017 SegWit upgrade reached a critical point when diverging software choices became incompatible. If Core’s forthcoming adjustments lead to blocks or transactions being rejected by non-Core clients, the stage is set for history to repeat itself.
With over 13% of the network currently operating Knots, this is not merely a protest vote but the initiation of a parallel consensus.
Price might be influenced if history repeats or echoes
When Bitcoin separated into Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash on August 1, 2017, markets reacted with volatility but no collapse.
As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin (BTC) fell approximately 5.6%, declining from around $2,875 on July 31 to $2,718 on the fork day.
However, this dip was short-lived. Throughout August, BTC surged nearly 49%, closing strong at about $4,050, and continued its extraordinary ascent to nearly $20,000 by December 2017. Meanwhile, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) began trading at roughly 0.0045 BTC (~$240).“`html
and surged to 0.283 BTC (~$1,500) prior to leveling off in the $300-$500 bracket.
Instead of undermining investor trust, the fork reinforced BTC’s supremacy and provided critics with an alternative in BCH.
The stakes are elevated this time. With Bitcoin ETFs, businesses accumulating Bitcoin on their balance sheets, and the market potentially set for blow-off tops in the near future, this division could introduce greater market risk than previously witnessed.
If Bitcoin Knots maintains its average growth rate from May through October 2025, there will be over 5,000 nodes operating the Knots client. This will represent approximately 23% of the overall Bitcoin network.
This degree of adoption would signify the most significant separation from Bitcoin Core since the hard fork of 2017, and this time, the insurrection is already within the household.
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