I have an itch to write a bitcoin node implementation in python.
Would be a great learning opportunity, even if it’s impractical.
Bitcoin Core dominance falling below 98% 👀
Meanwhile, Bitcoin Knots is reaching a new all-time high in popularity. Just two years ago, this alternative client was virtually unknown, with only a few dozen nodes running worldwide. Huge credit to the team at nostr:nprofile1qqsq9k04vahllseell55m74n3047y88pzlr0z5yany32st29fapqmgspz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhsz8thwden5te0dehhxarj9e3xjarrda5kuetj9eek7cmfv9kz7x3alzs for their work in decentralizing not just mining but also Bitcoin clients. And a nod to the principled monetary maxis who stood firm against spammers, shitcoiners and their deep-pocketed backers. You guys are chads and I want to follow you.
Discussion
Do it! We need more client diversity.
After some preliminary research, it would need to use many C bindings to run in a usable state, so it would essentially just be python orchestrating the same C libraries used in Core, but I’ll look into it more this weekend. Might be slower and less secure, but I’d benefit from the process to learn and Python is much more high level, so it could be a great intro into how the node works for anyone - even if it’s not the fastest or more secure implementation.
Knots is basically Core but with a lot of bug fixes and more user control.