Core Devs Accused of DOS Attack on Bitcoin Knots Nodes
Accusations have emerged that Bitcoin Core developers orchestrated a Denial of Service (DOS) attack against Bitcoin Knots nodes, overwhelming them with repeated Initial Block Download (IBD) requests. The dispute escalated after Luke Dashjr, CTO of Ocean Mining, shared leaked footage purportedly showing developers—including PortlandHODL—mocking and executing bandwidth exhaustion tactics against Knots operators. Affected node operators were advised to adjust the maxuploadtarget setting to mitigate risk. A pseudonymous user admitted scripting automated IBD floods as “defensive return fire,” while others urged an FBI investigation. Critics argue the alleged attack aims to discredit Bitcoin Knots and force adoption of Core v30 updates. In response, a developer nicknamed Wicked dismissed the claims as trolling. The incident highlights growing tensions within the Bitcoin ecosystem over competing node implementations and raises concerns about decentralization and governance.
Neutral
While allegations of a coordinated DOS attack highlight serious governance and security concerns within the Bitcoin ecosystem, the dispute is largely confined to developer and node operator communities. Historically, technical conflicts (such as past disagreements over forks) have led to short-term sentiment fluctuations but seldom triggered sustained price movements. Traders may monitor the situation for potential node stability issues, but as no protocol-level vulnerability has been confirmed, the overall market impact is likely to remain neutral in both the short and long term.