Libbitcoin Server Completes Bitcoin Full Node Sync in 55 Minutes Using GPU Signature Verification

ChainCatcher reports that Libbitcoin developer @evoskuil stated that the latest version of Libbitcoin Server can complete the initial block download and full validation of a Bitcoin full node in just 55 minutes. This speed improvement comes from a new GPU-based signature verification system that runs in parallel with standard script validation, rather than as a separate step. Instead of pausing execution to verify each ECDSA and Schnorr signature individually, the software captures signature checks, batches them, and processes them via GPU while the rest of the validation continues. @evoskuil noted that this approach achieves approximately a 99.5% signature capture rate without blocking validation, eliminating the need for a second verification pass. If a batched signature check fails, the software traces it back to the corresponding block and marks that block as invalid. He also stated that this design can batch virtually any number of signatures, keeping the GPU ahead of the remaining validation processes and significantly reducing full node sync times.