Why Run a Node? - Meetup #4 - 2022-09-08

1. Meetup # 4 – September 8, 2022 Meetup # 4 – September 8, 2022
2. 2 Agenda Agenda Introductions Purpose: “Our mission is to share bitcoin knowledge, tools, and resources in order to grow adoption within the local Round Rock community.” Location(s): Lamppost Cofee (Mention Oshi App) Library $179 / hour Baca Center ½ that price Bitcoin Happy Hour at BrassTap or Alcove Rules: No shitcoining No pictures/video unless we agree ahead of time Be respectful to the establishment / families Announcements: OshiApp Lamppost Gift Cards The Bitcoin Company Honey Badger Circular Economy (Satoshi Square) Azteco Vouchers Onboard local businesses Have fun! Questions: Who has made an on-chain bitcoin transaction? Who has made a lightning transaction? Who is running a bitcoin full node?
3. 3 We now have a twitter @rbitcoiners We now have a twitter @rbitcoiners
4. 4 And a matrix elements chat And a matrix elements chat
5. 5 Why Run A Node? Why Run A Node? Altruistic Node Validates copies of the blockchain from nearby nodes Strengthens network decentralization Asserts specific rules (e.g. Segwit signalling) Economic Full Node Verifies own transactions Connected to a wallet Mining Node Participates in nakamoto consensus (POW; Longest Chain) Confirms transactions by adding to blockchain Block reward and tx fees Lightning Node On top of a bitcoin node Facilitates own 2nd layer network transactions Connected Wallet Routing Node High bandwidth Facilitates other’s transactions Ability to collect micro-fees “Uncle Jim” Privacy Node On-chain bitcoin node – verify family/friends transactions Facilitates own/other’s privacy txs (e.g. Payjoin (stowaway) Facilitates CoinJoins (e.g. Joinmarket, Whirlpool) Why is running a node important to you?
6. 6 What are some popular bitcoin node projects? What are some popular bitcoin node projects? Bitcoin Core Reference implementation Can run on an old laptop Requires ~500GB of Drive Space RaspiBlitz DIY Runs on a raspberry Pi Fully Open Source Umbrel, MyNode, & Nodl Plug and Play Lightning enabled (LND/Core Lightning) “Swiss army knife” Start 9 Embassy Self-sovereign computing device (file server, pw manager, etc.) Bitcoin core Core Lightning Ronindojo On-chain only bitcoin node Whirlpool Dojo (CoinJoin Suite) Bisq-network and privacy tool integration What kind of node do you run?
7. 7 What are some popular hardware wallets? What are some popular hardware wallets? Hardware (Cold Wallets) • Trezor (Open-source, non-custodial) • Ledger (Closed-source, HSM) • ColdCard (Verifiable-Source, Secure Elements, Air Gapped) • Seed Signer (Fully Open Source Hardware/Software; DIY) https://bitcoin-only.com/wallets What types of wallets have you used?
8. 8 What are some ways to connect a wallet What are some ways to connect a wallet (signing device) to a bitcoin full node? (signing device) to a bitcoin full node? Can you think of any other ways to connect? HWI with bitcoin core • Multi device support • More complicated CLI setup • Advanced use cases; integration with custom software Electrum Server • Integrates with multiple plug and play node setups (mynode, umbrel, etc.) • Easier network integration (including Tor) • Connect to your node remotely Use Sparrow Wallet • Leverages all of the above in an easier setup • Can connect to a public node, bitcoin core, or remote node via electrum server
9. 9 What can we verify? What can we verify? See Current Bitcoin UTXOset bitcoin-cli gettxoutsetinfo Returns the current Get Blockchain Info bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo Get general blockchain info, including mining difficulty, the best block hash, which chain you’re on, forks, and more Get a Transaction bitcoin-cli gettransaction transactionid Returns details of a transaction connected to your node/wallet Mempool.space Blockchain explorer for your node Includes visualizations, mainnet, testnet, lightning Many More RPC Commands Commonly Used Full List What other info might we need to verify?