Why is Bitcoin Knots Becoming so Popular?
Bitcoin Knots, a full-node client maintained by Luke Dash Jr, has become a focal point of controversy within the Bitcoin community due to its integrated spam filters and stricter policy controls compared to Bitcoin Core. While Knots users argue that filtering transactions such as Ordinals, Runes, Stamps, and CoinJoins protects Bitcoin’s role as a monetary network, evidence remains inconclusive that filters actually do much to prevent such activity, as miners often include them through direct submission channels like Marathon’s Slipstream. The dispute has sparked heated debates across social platforms, drawing comparisons to the 2017 block size wars and driving a surge in Knots adoption, from just 69 nodes in January 2024 to over 4,200 by September 2025, representing nearly 18% of the network. Though divisive, this shift has increased client diversity and reduced reliance on Bitcoin Core, potentially strengthening Bitcoin’s resilience despite the unresolved ideological clash over neutrality versus restriction.