((("Bitcoin Core", "running core nodes", id="BCnode03")))((("Bitcoin nodes", "running core nodes", id="BNcore03")))Bitcoin's peer-to-peer network is composed of network "nodes," run mostly by volunteers and some of the businesses that build bitcoin applications. Those running Bitcoin nodes have a direct and authoritative view of the Bitcoin blockchain, with a local copy of all the transactions, independently validated by their own system. By running a node, you don't have to rely on any third party to validate a transaction. Moreover, by running a Bitcoin node you contribute to the Bitcoin network by making it more robust.
((("Bitcoin Core", "running core nodes", id="BCnode03")))((("Bitcoin nodes", "running core nodes", id="BNcore03")))Bitcoin's peer-to-peer network is composed of network "nodes", run mostly by volunteers and some of the businesses that build bitcoin applications. Those running Bitcoin nodes have a direct and authoritative view of the Bitcoin blockchain, with a local copy of all the transactions, independently validated by their own system. By running a node, you don't have to rely on any third party to validate a transaction. Moreover, by running a Bitcoin node you contribute to the Bitcoin network by making it more robust.
Running a node, however, requires a permanently connected system with enough resources to process all bitcoin transactions. Depending on whether you choose to index all transactions and keep a full copy of the blockchain, you may also need a lot of disk space and RAM. As of early 2021, a full-index node needs 2 GB of RAM and a minimum of 360 GB of disk space (see https://www.blockchain.com/charts/blocks-size[]). Bitcoin nodes also transmit and receive bitcoin transactions and blocks, consuming internet bandwidth. If your internet connection is limited, has a low data cap, or is metered (charged by the gigabit), you should probably not run a Bitcoin node on it, or run it in a way that constrains its bandwidth (see <<constrained_resources>>).
lucas
5 months ago
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