There’s about 10,000 nodes protecting the network right now, and each one has an entire copy of the #Bitcoin ledger that they use to enforce and validate the rules.
A #Bitcoin full node is a program you run that fully validates all transactions and blocks in the network. It can be downloaded and synced with the entire network using an average computer or laptop, from anywhere in the world. That’s what makes #Bitcoin decentralized.
From Satoshi Nakamoto’s first transaction in 2009, to the one you send yourself today, when you download a full node, you’re able to validate each transaction to ever happen. You do not rely on any third-party to tell you what’s true, you validate it ALL yourself.
If you’re new to #Bitcoin and are wondering why your transaction may take a little bit to confirm? This amazing chart is why. Keeping the block size limited, makes sure the file size of the blockchain doesn’t get too big for the average laptop to handle.
The file size of the #Bitcoin blockchain is about 392.1 GB right now. Your laptop has much more space than that. But if #Bitcoin had larger blocks, it would grow exponential in size. The average person would never get to take part. The entire point of #Bitcoin would be lost.
Only “server farms”, warehouses filled with top-of-the-line computers, typically companies and governments, would ever get to download the blockchain. They would be the only ones with enough money and resources to buy the hardware needed to sync such a large amount of data.
Every design choice has trade-offs. #Bitcoin is censorship-resistant money. That requires as many people as possible to run a full node that validates transactions, enforces the rules and protect the network for all.
What people see as a “slow, expensive, and inefficient” network, is just a failure on their part to consider the positive side of the trade-off. #Bitcoin has something NO other payment network has, censorship resistance.
The #Bitcoin Network’s fees and transaction time are limited so the number of nodes are not. 1 node = Cheap payments (PayPal, CashApp) 10,000 nodes = More expensive (Bitcoin) Ten thousands nodes around the world sounds harder to shut-down, change, stop, and censor, right?
Summary: The amount of nodes is what makes #Bitcoin so interesting. The more nodes, the more censorship-resistant the network is. “If nuclear war destroyed half of our planet, Bitcoin would continue to live, uncorrupted. It would continue to offer its services.” – Ralph Merkle
Source: @DocumentingBTC) / Twitter
