Running a Bitcoin node is an important part of what makes the Bitcoin network function. If it wasn’t for a decentralized network of nodes all around the world, it would be much easier for malicious actors to attack Bitcoin and gain control over a majority of the network. The more users that run Bitcoin nodes, the more secure, decentralized, and private the entire network becomes. If you truly want to be a part of Bitcoin, one of the most important things you can do is to learn how to run a Bitcoin node.
Why Run A Bitcoin Node?
Bitcoin nodes are the backbone of the bitcoin network. In the most technical sense, Bitcoin nodes ARE Bitcoin. They download and verify every single transaction in every single block all the way back to the very first block ever mined by Satoshi himself. Nodes play an important role in decentralizing the Bitcoin network and ensuring that all users have a voice in the network’s consensus rules. When you run a Bitcoin node, you help to ensure that the Bitcoin consensus rules are enforced, the network remains honest, and that nodes are decentralized around the world. There are many reasons to run your own Bitcoin node but the most common is probably to increase your own privacy and check the balance of your own bitcoin addresses without having to rely on a trusted third party.
When you run your own Bitcoin node, you don’t need to trust anyone else to tell you how much bitcoin are in existence or how much you have in you wallet. You can verify it yourself.
How Much Does It Cost To Run A Bitcoin Node?
The cost of running a bitcoin full node varies but you can buy all of this hardware for about $200-$300 at today’s current pricing depending on where you live and what online retailers you have access to.
Computer Hardware
– Raspberry Pi 4 (8 GB RAM is best but 4 GB RAM will work) $100-$200
– Raspberry Pi power supply (It’s best to buy the official Raspberry Pi power supply) $30
– 1TB+ hard drive. SSD seems to be the best option for now. ~$100
– 16 GB Micro SD card $10
– Ethernet cable $5
– Raspberry Pi Case: The Flirc $20
Internet connection + bandwidth
– Initial block download (IBD)
– 1 MB block approximately every 10 minutes
– Uploading potentially hundreds of gigs of data to other nodes that connect to yours to copy the blockchain.
Electricity
– The cost of the electricity to run a node should cost pennies each month.
How To Run A Bitcoin Node On Your Own Computer
You can run a bitcoin node on your own desktop or laptop computer. All you need is a machine that meets the technical requirements to be able to run the core Bitcoin software. If you want to run a full archival node, you will need to make sure that you have enough disk space to store the entire blockchain.
For maximum uptime, it’s common practice to run bitcoin on dedicated desktop or laptop computer and only for running a bitcoin node. The more software you install on a computer, the greater the likelihood that malware is somehow installed and corrupts your node data or knocks it offline entirely.
Core Bitcoin Software
You can download the core Bitcoin protocol software here and find installation instructions for MacOS, Windows, Linux, and the Bitcoin GitHub repository.
How To Run A Bitcoin Node On A Raspberry Pi
You can run a Bitcoin node on any computer that is capable of meeting the technical requirements but one of the most common methods for bitcoiners around the world is to run a Bitcoin node on a Raspberry Pi. Due to the small size and low price point, the Raspberry Pi is an excellent choice for running a Bitcoin node in your home or office for only a few hundred dollars.
Here are the most popular DIY Bitcoin node services that run on a Raspberry Pi.
Umbrel
Umbrel is a personal server with an incredibly clean interface that makes it easy to run a Bitcoin node on a Raspberry Pi. One of the reasons Umbrel is such a popular project is that it is more than just a Bitcoin node. It’s a personal server that is capable of running dozens of different bitcoin related apps such as an electrum server, BTCPay server, RoboSats bitcoin exchange, Plex media server, and more.
Additionally, anyone can build and deploy their own apps on their own Umbrel node as well as make them available on the Umbrel app “store”. This makes Umbrel a permissionless server that runs in your own house, office, school, etc. No need to get permission from a centralized service like Apple or Google.
The low price point of running a Bitcoin node on a Raspberry Pi, the clean user interface, multiple bitcoin related apps, deploying your own apps on the Umbrel app store, and community support forum makes Umbrel one of the most popular options for new users who are learning how to run their own Bitcoin node.
A complete list of hardware and setup instructions is available here: How to run a Bitcoin node with Umbrel.
MyNode
MyNode is a freemium Bitcoin node service that offers a basic node for free and premium apps + customer support for $99. MyNode basic comes with all of the essentials to run your own node on a Raspberry Pi like an electrum server, Lightning Network Daemon (LND), block explorer, and more.
You can gain access to the premium apps along with customer support for a one time payment of $99 (payable in bitcoin) which gets you access to premium apps.
MyNode is a great way to run a Bitcoin node on a Raspberry Pi because it is easy to use and set up, and gives you quick and easy access to the command line right within your node’s dashboard. If you want to run your own bitcoin node and have a more technical background, then MyNode is a great option.
A complete list of hardware and setup instructions is available here: How to run a Bitcoin node with MyNode.
If you would rather just purchase a Bitcoin node rather than build one, MyNode has a complete node package that you can purchase directly from them that also comes with customer support.
RaspiBlitz
RaspiBlitz is a Bitcoin node software with a focus on the lightning network but can also be run as a standard bitcoin node. RaspiBlitz is not a personal server with all sorts of other apps. It is focused on being a bitcoin node that routes payments on the lightning network to support the lightning network as well as earn fees from routing payments. If you do decide that you want to run a lightning node RaspiBlitz is the best node in the industry.
A complete list of hardware and setup instructions is available here: How to run a Bitcoin node with RaspiBlitz.
If you’re not interested in building your own node, you can purchase a complete RaspiBlitz as well as other bitocin node hardware from these online stores.
– Fulmo (Global)
– DIY Nodes (UK)
– Lightning In A Box (USA)
BTCPay Server
BTCPay Server is another popular method to run a Bitcoin node on a Raspberry Pi. If you own or operate an e-commerce or retail store and you would like to receive bitcoin payments without any middlemen, running BTCPay Server on your own node is the best in the industry. Instead of relying on a third party to process your bitcoin payments, you can run your own BTCPay Server right from your own Bitcoin node in your home or office. BTCPay Server is capable of receiving both on-chain and lightning payments directly to your own wallet without any banks, payment processors, chargebacks, or custodians.
BTCPay Server is the absolute best way to run your own payment server on top of your own Bitcoin node.
A complete list of hardware and setup instructions is available here: How to run a BTCPay Server on a Raspberry Pi.
How To Run A Bitcoin Node On Specialized Hardware
While it’s possible to run a bitcoin node on your personal computer or a Raspberry Pi, it’s typically recommended to do so on more robust hardware for optimal performance. Specialized hardware options both offer additional power and security measures that are better suited for running a dedicated bitcoin node. Here are just some of the industry favorites.
Ronin Dojo
Ronin Dojo is one of the most robust and privacy focused node packages available on the market today. The project is run by privacy advocates with a focus on individual sovereignty and open source ethos.
Ronin Dojo has a few node products as well as a privacy-focused metal plate to write your seed phrase on and last a lifetime.
– The Tanto: $599 is their flagship product. A powerful plug and play bitcoin node designed from the bottom to protect and preserve your privacy.
– The Bakuto: $299 A bare bones hardware setup with a focus on being a bitcoin node instead of just some random hardware that you have lying around or a general use computer like a Raspberry Pi.
Both node packages come with setup support but if you want priority support, you can purchase a premium support package for dedicated help if you ever need or want anyone to explain some things to you in greater detail.
Additionally, you can also build your own Tanto with this step-by-step tutorial here: Ronin Dojo Tanto DIY Setup
Start9
Start9 is building personal servers that put you in control of your own data. Since Bitcoin is all about us being in control of our own system, it only makes sense that Start9 would have a bitcoin node built on custom hardware.
Start9 offers a few different bitcoin node packages available for purchase.
– Server Lite for ~$220
– Server One for ~$550
– Server Pro for ~$1,699
Currently, Start9 does not have step by step instructions on how to build your own start9 server with custom hardware.
Citadel
Citadel is an industry favorite node for cypherpunks and hackers. It’s completely FOSS license makes it perfect for anyone who wants to be able to do whatever they want with their node in a truly permissionless manner. You are free to fork or change any of the Citadel code even for commercial purposes.
Citadel also has an app store with a number of different FOSS apps available so your Citadel is a home for all of your personal and private data.
Citadel is available for download and can be run on a Raspberry Pi and is working with DTV Electronics to bring hardware designed and manufactured specifically to be used as bitcoin node hardware. Citadel does not currently have a step-by-step tutorial for building your own Citadel node but they are actively working on building their user support center content.
NODL
NODL is a bitcoin node service for running a complete plug and play bitcoin and lightning node on some robust hardware.
Nodl has 2 of their own products as well as a collaboration with Samourai Wallet for maximum privacy features.
nodl One for ~549 Euros: A robust bitcoin node that comes shipped ready to be setup with a quick start guide.
nodl Two for 999 Euros: An even more robust bitcoin node complete with a metal case and upgraded hardware such as 2 x 2TB hard disks for storing the entire blockchain with redundancy.
nodl Dojo: A collaboration between nodl and the Samourai wallet team to build a privacy focused bitcoin node that serves as the back-end to your Samourai wallet.
If you think that you might need some dedicated support, nodl has premium support available for purchase on their web store.
Currently, nodl does not have a step-by-step tutorial on how to build and run your own nodl bitcoin node.
How To Run A Bitcoin Node On The Cloud
Not everybody wants to physically have control of their own node and they may need to be able to scale up a lot faster than what a local server is able to handle. Running a Bitcoin node on the cloud has the advantage of being able to scale up and down to accommodate a large amount of users or traffic that might cause a local node to overheat and shut down.
Bitcoin nodes run on the cloud also offer added convenience for the non tech-savvy business owners who would rather just pay a monthly fee to a third-party service to remove 100% of the technical headache and hassle.
Voltage
Voltage cloud nodes offer plug-and-play bitcoin nodes on the cloud for businesses of any size. You can start off small and then scale up to be able to process lightning payments without having to worry about managing payment channels or liquidity.
If you want peace of mind knowing that your node will always be on and you don’t have to troubleshoot any issues in the future, running a cloud node with Voltage might be the best option for you. They have a dedicated support team ready and waiting to help you integrate a cloud node with your project. Voltage can even run a BTCPay Server so if you want to accept lightning payments on an e-commerce store or in-store payments, Voltage might be the best option for you.
Final Thoughts
If you believe in the bitcoiner mantra “Don’t trust. Verify.“, then it’s only makes logical sense to learn how to run your own bitcoin node instead of having to trust someone else’s node. Even if you don’t want to learn how to use bitcoin anonymously, learning how to run your own bitcoin node is still an important part of using bitcoin to it’s fullest potential.
No matter which method you choose to run a bitcoin node, the more of us that are running bitcoin, the more privacy we all have as individual users and the more decentralized we become as a network.
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