backport: Merge bitcoin#28172, 28649, 28464#7186

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vijaydasmp wants to merge 2 commits intodashpay:developfrom

vijaydasmp:March_2026_4

Commits on Mar 26, 2026

Merge bitcoin/bitcoin#28172: refactor: use string_view for passing string literals to Parse{Hash,Hex}

achow101
authored and
vijaydasmp
committed
Merge bitcoin/bitcoin#28464: net: improve max-connection limits code

achow101
authored and
vijaydasmp
committed