<p>The standard Bitcoin client does not at this time support IPv6. Bitcoins.lc is a mining pool, and mining pools work by having an interface (such as PushPool) visible to the public which handles all the getwork stuff and various internals, miner tracking etc. This interface operates as a proxy to the actual bitcoin client and so the client itself can bind to an IPv4 address which is local relative to the mining interface which can have full IPv6 support.</p>

<p>In short, it is not the bitcoin client which bitcoins.lc is claiming IPv6 support for, but the proxy to which pooled miners connect.</p>

<p><strong>Edit:</strong> <em>It looks like <a href="https://github.com/sipa" rel="nofollow">sipa</a> has <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/427" rel="nofollow">submitted the necessary code</a>. According to <a href="https://github.com/TheBlueMatt" rel="nofollow">TheBlueMatt</a>, there is "some alternate connection logic and anti-DDoS stuff wrt filling addr.dat on IRC" that needs to be done first. In any case the code is out there so it shouldn't be long now until it finds its way into the official client.</em></p>

<p><strong>Update:</strong> <em>IPv6 support was merged into the mainstream client and should be available in the 0.7.0 build.</em></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-03T20:09:22.317Z
I think this answer should be returned to eventually and elaborated on, as IPv6 is going to shortly become necessary and the bitcoin client will likely change.
Evil Spork
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-03T21:44:51.697Z
Absolutely. I've marked it as a favorite and plan to revisit it whenever IPv6 support gets rolled into the client.
David Perry
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-08T06:21:52.283Z
Unfortunately, the client uses some of the bits of the IPv4 address as a surrogate for the geographical location. This logic will have to be re-thought for IPv6 addresses. (Or ditched. I'm not convinced it was ever particularly effective.)
David Schwartz
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-08T06:26:59.380Z
That's probably part of the "alternate connection logic" TheBlueMatt was talking about. I haven't exactly pored over the source code so I can only trust what I read from the real devs.
David Perry
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-03-05T23:54:23.030Z
I hope to get full IPv6 support in 0.7.0.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-22T23:10:10.743Z
IPv6 support was merged, so it will be in 0.7.0.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-02T15:22:18.423Z
2012-05-22T23:31:21.043Z
2012-05-22T23:31:21.043Z
David Perry
<p>What is the current status of IPv6 support?</p>

<p>From what I gathered reading <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Protocol_specification">the Wiki</a>, protocol specifications support IPv6, but the original client does not.</p>

<p>However, I also came across the description of Bitcoins.lc, who claim "full IPv6 support".</p>

<development><network>
IPv6 support status
Nicolas Kaiser
# IPv6 support status

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-09-02)

What is the current status of IPv6 support?

From what I gathered reading [the Wiki](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Protocol_specification), protocol specifications support IPv6, but the original client does not.

However, I also came across the description of Bitcoins.lc, who claim "full IPv6 support".

**Tags:** development, network


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2011-09-02. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

The standard Bitcoin client does not at this time support IPv6. Bitcoins.lc is a mining pool, and mining pools work by having an interface (such as PushPool) visible to the public which handles all the getwork stuff and various internals, miner tracking etc. This interface operates as a proxy to the actual bitcoin client and so the client itself can bind to an IPv4 address which is local relative to the mining interface which can have full IPv6 support.

In short, it is not the bitcoin client which bitcoins.lc is claiming IPv6 support for, but the proxy to which pooled miners connect.

**Edit:** *It looks like [sipa](https://github.com/sipa) has [submitted the necessary code](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/427). According to [TheBlueMatt](https://github.com/TheBlueMatt), there is "some alternate connection logic and anti-DDoS stuff wrt filling addr.dat on IRC" that needs to be done first. In any case the code is out there so it shouldn't be long now until it finds its way into the official client.*

**Update:** *IPv6 support was merged into the mainstream client and should be available in the 0.7.0 build.*

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I think this answer should be returned to eventually and elaborated on, as IPv6 is going to shortly become necessary and the bitcoin client will likely change.  
> **username_1**: Absolutely. I've marked it as a favorite and plan to revisit it whenever IPv6 support gets rolled into the client.  
> **username_3**: Unfortunately, the client uses some of the bits of the IPv4 address as a surrogate for the geographical location. This logic will have to be re-thought for IPv6 addresses. (Or ditched. I'm not convinced it was ever particularly effective.)  
> **username_1**: That's probably part of the "alternate connection logic" TheBlueMatt was talking about. I haven't exactly pored over the source code so I can only trust what I read from the real devs.  
> **username_4**: I hope to get full IPv6 support in 0.7.0.  
> **username_4**: IPv6 support was merged, so it will be in 0.7.0.  

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