Longtime Bitcoin Core Developer Steps Down
Gloria Zhao, a Bitcoin Core developer who focused on mempool validation and transaction relay, has withdrawn from her position. She also revoked her cryptographic signing key, which is a standard practice when maintainers step down from their roles.
Zhao had been involved with Bitcoin Core for more than six years. During that time, she worked on important areas like mempool policy, transaction relay, and fee estimation. Her contributions helped improve network efficiency, but they didn’t change Bitcoin’s consensus rules—the fundamental rules that all nodes follow.
Understanding the Maintainer Role
Bitcoin Core maintainers are a small group of trusted developers with special access to the codebase. They function sort of like project janitors, reviewing and approving code updates. They also digitally sign official releases with cryptographic keys to verify their authenticity.
When someone steps down from this position, they typically revoke their signing key. This ensures that old keys can’t be misused in the future. It’s a security measure, really, and it happens fairly regularly in open-source projects.
Questions About the Departure
Zhao’s decision prompted some questions within the community. People wondered why she was leaving suddenly. Reports reached out to her for clarification, but she declined to comment. That’s not unusual either—developers sometimes prefer to keep their reasons private.
In the Bitcoin blockchain community, maintainers often reduce their involvement for various reasons. Funding changes, sustainability concerns, or personal commitments can all play a role. The work is demanding, and it’s mostly volunteer-based, which makes it challenging to sustain long-term.
Addressing Unfounded Connections
Some social media posts tried to link Zhao’s departure to controversial figures from Bitcoin’s development history. There were suggestions about connections to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who was convicted of sex trafficking.
But here’s what actually happened: Epstein donated to MIT from 2002 to 2017. In 2015, after the Bitcoin Foundation collapsed, there was a funding shortage for Bitcoin Core development. The MIT Digital Currency Initiative provided temporary backing to some developers during this period.
Some of MIT’s funds during that time did come from Epstein’s donations. However, there’s no evidence that Epstein directly funded individual developers or influenced Bitcoin Core’s code. More importantly, Zhao wasn’t even involved with Bitcoin Core in 2015—she started contributing around 2019-2020.
No records show that Zhao received funding from MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative or any Epstein-connected funds. She also had no contact with figures from that era regarding funding or governance. The social media speculation appears to be just that—speculation without factual backing.
Looking Forward
The Bitcoin Core project continues despite maintainer changes. It’s designed to be resilient to individual departures. The consensus rules remain unchanged, and network security isn’t affected when a maintainer steps down.
Zhao’s work on mempool validation and transaction relay will likely continue to influence the project. Other developers will pick up where she left off. That’s how open-source projects work—they’re collaborative efforts that don’t depend on any single person.
It’s worth remembering that Bitcoin development has always been a community effort. People come and go, but the protocol continues to evolve. The important thing is that the process remains transparent and the code remains secure.
