Bitcoin-Qt version 0.8.6 final is now available from:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/bitcoin-0.8.6/

This is a maintenance release to fix a critical bug; we urge all users to upgrade.

Please report bugs using the issue tracker at github:

https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/issues

How to Upgrade

If you already downloaded 0.8.6rc1 you do not need to re-download. This release is exactly the same.

If you are running an older version, shut it down. Wait until it has completely shut down (which might take a few minutes for older versions), then run the installer (on Windows) or just copy over /Applications/Bitcoin-Qt (on Mac) or bitcoind/bitcoin-qt (on Linux).

If you are upgrading from version 0.7.2 or earlier, the first time you run 0.8.6 your blockchain files will be re-indexed, which will take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on the speed of your machine.

0.8.6 Release notes

• Default block size increase for miners. (see https://gist.github.com/gavinandresen/7670433#086-accept-into-block)

• Remove the all-outputs-must-be-greater-than-CENT-to-qualify-as-free rule for relaying (see https://gist.github.com/gavinandresen/7670433#086-relaying)

• Lower maximum size for free transaction creation (see https://gist.github.com/gavinandresen/7670433#086-wallet)

• OSX block chain database corruption fixes
  • Update leveldb to 1.13
  • Use fcntl with F_FULLSYNC instead of fsync on OSX
  • Use native Darwin memory barriers
  • Replace use of mmap in leveldb for improved reliability (only on OSX)

• Fix nodes forwarding transactions with empty vins and getting banned

• Network code performance and robustness improvements

• Additional debug.log logging for diagnosis of network problems, log timestamps by default

• Fix Bitcoin-Qt startup crash when clicking dock icon on OSX

• Fix memory leaks in CKey::SetCompactSignature() and Key::SignCompact()

• Fix rare GUI crash on send

• Various small GUI, documentation and build fixes

Warning

• There have been frequent reports of users running out of virtual memory on 32-bit systems during the initial sync. Hence it is recommended to use a 64-bit executable if possible. A 64-bit executable for Windows is planned for 0.9.

Note: Gavin Andresen’s GPG signing key for SHA256SUMS.asc has been changed from key id 1FC730C1 to sub key 7BF6E212 (see https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/pull/279).