I wanna kick things off with a quick rundown on what a bitcoin node is, especially for any newbies out there.
So, what’s the deal with bitcoin nodes and why are they crucial for the network?
Basically, bitcoin nodes are computers or devices that run bitcoin software and keep a full copy of the whole bitcoin blockchain. This blockchain is like a decentralized digital ledger that tracks every single bitcoin transaction. Nodes play a vital role in the bitcoin network because they:
Check Transactions: They make sure the same bitcoin isn’t spent twice by validating transactions. If you send a bitcoin to someone, you’ll see it being processed or get a message saying "validating transaction". That’s the node doing its job, keeping the order in the bitcoin world.
They also promote transparency by holding a complete copy of the blockchain, which boosts the accuracy and reliability of the network.
Nodes are essential for syncing wallets with the network, which means bitcoins can be sent and received smoothly.
To wrap it up, nodes are crucial for maintaining decentralization, ensuring security, and helping the network scale. In short, bitcoin nodes are the backbone of the whole system, keeping everything running smoothly.
Now, let’s talk about the idea of turning old smartphones into bitcoin nodes.
These days, tons of people are using the bitcoin network all the time, so we need more nodes. Plus, smartphones become outdated pretty quickly, usually lasting around two years before they start to lag.
Old smartphones barely have 100 GB in storage. If your goal is to help the network in terms of bandwidth, it's required to store and transfer the entire blockchain, which is far bigger in size than that.
There is no point in doing that, though, unless the smartphone owner wants to run a node for personal gain (privacy and security of their funds), and is incapable of running one in a PC. Installing and running Bitcoin Core on your smartphone is not easy to setup, and questionably secure.
There are over 50,000 nodes running. The network is pretty good in terms of bandwidth, already.
Locally, storage might not be the problem because pruning, and it's cheap. But for old smartphones, processing power - probably yes. During IBD, the smartphone might start slowing down when it starts validating data from that time when there was more network usage. It probably can't keep up with the network.
Smartphones can't reach up to computers in the aspect of durability in running a node, but there sure are better soending the rest of their lifespan running a bitcoin node than biting the dust sitting somewhere in your house, I just bought a power Bank and I plan on doing this myself to join on the run a node challenge in the beginners and help section, I wonder if that is allowed.
I'm going to disagree with you the guy you copied this from on many points:
This doesn't mean anything if you don't use a wallet on your node.
My full node only used a few percent of it's allowed bandwidth. That makes me believe there is no shortage of bandwidth in the Bitcoin network.
Unless you drop them, most phones can last a lot longer. A new one has almost exactly the same features, but you'll waste hours setting it up. So don't buy a new one every 2 years, save yourself the time, and you could even buy Bitcoin with the money you saved.
So where are the pictures of your own phone that runs Bitcoin Core?
First, a battery pack isn't a stable power source. Second: how are you going to connect an external hard drive and a power connector at the same time?
Did you seriously just copy all this, without using quote tags, to make it look like you wrote this just to earn Merit? Welcome to my ignore list!
Where are source, discussion or data which can prove those statement?
You said old smartphone have enough storage, but then mention microsd or external harddrive as requirement. It's also worth to mention you could use microsd with smaller capacity.
Neither you or link sources what exactly is mynode or how we can obtain it. Do you mind briefly answer those question?
Bitcoin Core automatically try connect to Bitcoin network, so there's no need to configure it manually. In addition, what are
Neither you or link sources what exactly is mynode or how we can obtain it. Do you mind briefly answer those question?
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I'm really sorry about that information, it's wrong, I watched a YouTube video on how to run bitcoin node on ios and that what i got, I didn't bother to confirm the information since I don't have a ios device, I'll lock this thread or ask modertors to delete it, but I'll give pictures on my own node connection on android.