Nikolas Sargeant
Bitcoin Core developer Gloria Zhao has stepped down as a maintainer and revoked her Pretty Good Privacy signing key, ending approximately six years as one of the project's most influential gatekeepers amid ongoing disputes over Bitcoin's development direction and use of block space.
On Thursday, Zhao submitted her final pull request to the Bitcoin GitHub repository, removing her key from the trusted keys list and withdrawing herself as one of the few maintainers authorized to update Bitcoin's software. The resignation marks the departure of one of Bitcoin Core's most technically accomplished contributors during a contentious period in the project's governance.
Becoming the first known female maintainer in 2022, Zhao focused on mempool policy and transaction relay—the rules and peer-to-peer logic determining which transactions enter nodes' waiting queues and how quickly they propagate across the network. Her technical work addressed fundamental infrastructure challenges affecting Bitcoin's scalability and user experience.
Zhao helped design and implement package relay (BIP 331) and TRUC—Topologically Restricted Until Confirmation (BIP 431)—along with upgrades to replace-by-fee (RBF) and broader peer-to-peer behavior improvements. These contributions made fee bumping more reliable and reduced potential transaction censorship vulnerabilities in Bitcoin's network architecture.
Zhao's work was funded through Brink, where she became the organization's first fellow in 2021. Her fellowship was backed by the Human Rights Foundation's Bitcoin Development Fund and Jack Dorsey's Spiral (formerly Square Crypto), placing her among a small cohort of publicly supported, full-time open-source Bitcoin protocol engineers with sustained institutional backing.
Beyond technical contributions, Zhao mentored new contributors and co-ran the Bitcoin Core PR Review Club, helping junior developers learn how to review complex changes and navigate Core's conservative review culture. Her educational efforts lowered barriers to entry for aspiring protocol developers seeking to contribute to Bitcoin's codebase.
Her resignation follows more than a year of public disputes between Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots developers over OP_RETURN limits—a conflict centered on whether Bitcoin's default node software should restrict use of block space for non-monetary data. The technical disagreement escalated into personal attacks that created a hostile environment for contributors.
In 2025, Zhao deleted her X account amid personal attacks during the OP_RETURN controversy, following a livestream in which a core developer questioned her credentials. The incident highlighted tensions within Bitcoin's open-source development community over technical decisions and governance processes.
Community reactions to Zhao's departure were mixed. While some Bitcoin Core critics celebrated her resignation, others expressed concern about the circumstances surrounding her exit. "They bullied her and made her life as miserable as possible until she rage quit, and quite frankly, I think what they did to her was tragic," stated pseudonymous Bitcoiner Pledditor.
Pledditor added the situation set a "terrible precedent" and characterized it as "sad and pathetic." Chris Seedor, co-founder and CEO of Bitcoin wallet backup company Seedor, wrote: "Congratulations you finally did it. You bullied one of Bitcoin Core's most prolific and consistently excellent maintainers until she gave up."
The departure raises questions about Bitcoin Core's ability to retain top technical talent amid governance disputes and interpersonal conflicts within the development community. Zhao's exit removes an experienced maintainer with deep expertise in critical infrastructure components during a period when Bitcoin faces ongoing scaling and functionality debates.
