- Bitcoin Core Version 30 (v30) and v30.1 contain a bug that can delete legacy wallet files (BDB) during migration.
- Nodes using the built-in wallet without a prior BDB backup risk losing private keys and funds; hardware wallets are not affected.
- About 4,000 of the network’s 24,600 reachable nodes were running v30 when the issue appeared.
- Developers removed v30 and v30.1 download binaries and said a patched v30.2 is forthcoming; more details are in the official post here.
- Users who enabled pruning — a disk space feature that deletes old block data — face additional risk if a BDB wallet was unloaded during pruning.
Who, what, when, where, why. Developers of Bitcoin Core confirmed a migration bug in Version 30 (v30) and v30.1 on Jan. 5–6, 2026 that can delete legacy Berkeley DB (BDB) wallet files on affected full nodes. The bug threatens users who rely on the software’s built-in wallet and did not back up their BDB file prior to migration.
Officials provided figures and actions. Developers said the issue affects nodes running v30, which numbered roughly 4,000 of the network’s 24,600 reachable nodes. The v30.1 release page describes that build as offering "various bug fixes and performance improvements" (v30.1 release), but the fixes did not prevent the wallet migration bug.
Developers warned that "Under rare circumstances, migrating a legacy (BDB) wallet can delete all wallet files on the same node," in a public notice on X (tweet). They subsequently removed download binaries for v30 and v30.1 while they work on a patch; the removal and next steps are detailed in a blog post (wallet migration bug).
Technical details and user risk. A BDB wallet is a legacy file format that can store private keys; users are advised to back up this file before any migration. Pruning is a disk space feature that removes old block data to save storage; developers say if a BDB wallet is unloaded while pruning runs, v30/v30.1 may delete the wallet entirely.
The bug does not affect node operators who keep private keys on hardware wallets. The issue is described as backward incompatible in practice because it does not safely migrate user wallet files, though it would not cause a blockchain fork.
The release sparked debate among developers over data storage rules on the network. Supporters of the Knots fork, maintained by Luke Dashjr, contrasted Knots’ stricter mempool filtering approach with Core’s changes. For more coverage, follow Protos on X, Google News, and YouTube.
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