Release Schedule for v33.0 #36695

1. 
   fanquake commented at 3:39 PM on October 29, 2026: member

   Here is a proposed release schedule for v33.0, the next major release of Bitcoin Core. The dates are set to target a release in early October 2026.

   2027-02-01 🚧

   • Open Transifex translations for v33.0 - #35915
   • Soft translation string freeze (no large or non-critical string changes until release)
   • Finalize and close translations for v31.0

   2027-02-14 🚧

   • Feature freeze (bug fixes only until release)
   • Translation string freeze (no more source language changes until release)

   2027-03-08 🚧

   • Anything needed before branch-off, see https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/doc/release-process.md
   • Split off 33.x branch from master
   • Start RC cycle, tag and release v33.0rc1
   • Start merging for 34.x on master branch

   2027-04-08 🚧

   • Tag v33.0

   If any specific dates are a problem for you, please leave a comment.

2. fanquake added this to the milestone 33.0 on Oct 29, 2026
3. 
   hebasto commented at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2026: member

   A note in the context of #36673.

   The current Windows signing certificate expires on 2027-05-31, roughly two months after the target release date, so no action is needed for this release.

   Adding such a note to the release schedule issue at the beginning of each cycle could be an alternative to the CI-based monitoring suggested in #36673.

Milestone
33.0