Bitcoin Core 32.0 entered release-candidate testing on Sept. 14 after an August feature freeze, with the stable release targeted for Oct. 10 if testing reveals no issues. The first candidate, v32.0rc1, enables parallel database reads that can shorten block-validation times without changing Bitcoin’s roughly 10-minute block-production target. Four wallet commands will create Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBTs) using version 2 by default, while the older format remains available. Security fixes address specially constructed wallet names that could cause commands to run on non-Windows nodes and unauthenticated HTTP activity that drove memory use from about 3.2 gigabytes to roughly 3 megabytes in one test. The release is software maintenance rather than a consensus change or soft fork, leaving node operators free to adopt it or continue using an earlier version. Separately, nine industry firms formed the Bitcoin Security Consortium in July with $15 million in pledges over three years to support independent research into long-term security risks.