In other words, Bitcoin Core is still perceived as the Bitcoin software client that best preserves the ideology championed by Satoshi. This is because Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator(s) of Bitcoin, established the software from which Bitcoin Core was forked. However, none of these other clients is as widely used or influential as the Bitcoin Core implementation. Just as there are multiple internet browsers aside from Chrome, there are also several Bitcoin software clients in addition to Bitcoin Core. Here, we will highlight some prominent Bitcoin developers, particularly those working on the Bitcoin Core client. Judging by the critical nature of these tasks, it is important to understand how Bitcoin development works and identify the individuals and entities spearheading it. The outcome of these reviews determines whether the implementations are accepted or rejected. Instead, individuals or teams across the globe propose or initiate upgrades, which are subsequently peer-reviewed by hundreds of developers who are actively working on the Bitcoin project. In essence, there is no single individual or company that governs the development of the Bitcoin project. Just as Bitcoin’s software implementations and all its other network operations are subject to decentralization and consensus, the development team working on Bitcoin also tries to preserve some of the cryptocurrency’s ethos.
If an upgrade fails to attract enough support among them, the chances of it being implemented are very low.
Since Bitcoin is not controlled by a single entity, development and maintenance must be consensual among network participants. While this is a given, the decentralized and open source nature of the protocol makes such tasks a little tricky.
Like most software implementations, it is critical to maintain and upgrade the Bitcoin protocol regularly.