# Bitcoin Core Merges Privacy Fix Into v32 as v31 Backport Stays Open

By Simon Yoon

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/28576
Published: 2026-10-08T23:06:08.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-08T23:06:08.000Z
Section: Technology

> The fix changes how misbehaving private-broadcast peers are handled, while the 31.x backport remains unreleased with no confirmed release date.

Bitcoin Core merged a privacy fix into its v32 development code Sept. 25, addressing a peer-handling behavior that could help connect private-broadcast activity with a node’s ordinary network activity.

The patch keeps private-broadcast connections outside the normal system used to discourage misbehaving peers while still disconnecting misbehaving private-broadcast peers. The change was merged into Bitcoin Core’s master branch and has not been confirmed as part of a downloadable release.

The concern involved a node changing state after discouraging a private-broadcast connection. Because that state could be observed through the node’s public peer-to-peer interface, the behavior could potentially reveal a link between activity on a private-broadcast session and the node’s regular network activity.

“Discouraging a private broadcast connection may be observable,” Andrew Toth wrote Sept. 22.

Contributor vasild said activity on a private-broadcast connection should not alter a node’s state in a way that can be observed externally through the peer-to-peer interface.

A backport to the 31.x branch was opened Sept. 27 and approved Oct. 6, but remains open and unreleased. The pull request carries a 31.2 milestone, which does not establish a release date.

Bitcoin Core’s download page lists v31.1 as the latest version. Version 32 remains under development, and no confirmed release date has been set for v31.2.

Private broadcast was introduced in Bitcoin Core v31 as an experimental, opt-in way to submit transactions through short-lived connections. When used with sendrawtransaction, the feature can route transactions through Tor or I2P, or through Tor connections to IPv4 and IPv6 peers.

The feature is designed to reduce exposure of the transaction originator’s IP address and make separate transaction broadcasts harder to connect. The new fix addresses peer handling after misbehavior and is separate from a v31.1 fix covering cases in which private-broadcast connections could use the clearnet instead of the configured privacy network.

For node operators, the current distinction is between a privacy repair already merged into development code and a backport that remains open in the 31.x series.