Week 43 (2026) · BTC Weekly

Bitcoin's reference software changed how it estimates fees — without touching a single consensus rule.

The v32.0 tag was created on October 21, and the release notes list no consensus changes. The estimatesmartfee RPC now runs the existing block-based estimator alongside a new mempool-based one and returns the lower of the two, so the mempool estimate can only reduce a fee recommendation. Block validation can also prefetch input data from disk in parallel, defaulting to 8 threads with a maximum of 16, though the notes give no measured speedup. The release fixes a command-execution flaw in -walletnotify on non-Windows systems, replaces the Libevent-based RPC server with a custom HTTP server, and raises the default connection limit from 125 to 200.

Fee recommendations from the reference client now draw on live mempool data as well as past blocks, and operators running 29.x or earlier are on versions the notes list as end of life.

(Bitcoin Core (GitHub))

Network hashrate climbed back above one zettahash per second, even as public miners redirect capacity to AI.

BlocksBridge Consulting's seven-day average passed 1,000 exahashes per second as of October 22, the highest reading since March 3. CryptoQuant data put total hashrate roughly 45% above its July 2026 low near 726 EH/s, and mining difficulty rose 5.92% at the October 16 adjustment. Public miners had cut realized hashrate by 23% in pursuit of AI and high-performance computing revenue. Reports say the source of the replacement capacity is unclear, with smaller operators and used-hardware buyers cited as possible contributors. Readings differ by data provider and averaging window; some trackers report single-day peaks above the seven-day figure.

The shift of public-miner capacity toward AI workloads has so far not lowered network-wide mining competition.

(Cointelegraph (via TradingView), Forklog)