The number of functioning Bitcoin Unlimited (BU) nodes has plummeted again within a short period beginning April 22.

From a steadily declining count which saw numbers go from 786 to 649 in two days, BU’s node count suddenly dropped like a stone - by 65 percent.

As of press time Monday, only 259 are operating according to statistics from Coin Dance, a slight recovery from a previous bottom of 223.

While an official explanation is still forthcoming, commentators on social media are already suggesting the source to be another bug in BU’s software.

Similar occurrences in recent weeks have seen exploits aimed at shutting down nodes, which in the short term achieved considerable success.

A statement on Reddit from a Bitcoin Unlimited source reads:

“Unfortunately, running with full blocks and a massively bloated mempool is the hardest conditions for efficient block propagation while allowing flexibility for larger blocks. A point release is being prepared for this.”

Historically meanwhile, the latest crash is the largest in BU’s history. March’s temporary breakdown saw node numbers halve from around 800 to 400, before recovering to pre-bug levels, subject to two more modest drops along the way.

So far this time, a significant resurgence is yet to happen.