The day before, the CEO of the social platform Twitter Jack Dorsey posted a screenshot showing his own Bitcoin node. The billionaire has joined thousands of crypto enthusiasts who support the main cryptocurrency network around the clock every day.
Recall that Dorsey is a longtime supporter of Bitcoin, and last year his other company, Square, made a large investment in BTC amid the growth of the coin market. Let’s talk about the situation in more detail.
First, an explanation. Usually, a node is called a node in a network that can exchange information with each other. In the case of cryptocurrencies, it is the nodes that ensure the decentralization of networks and make them independent of external factors such as governments, banks and officials. The more nodes, the more secure the network.
In the case of Bitcoin, the node requires the installation of special software, also known as the client. After that, the program downloads the entire history of the operation in the cryptocurrency network for the entire period of its existence and proceeds to its tasks – confirming transactions in each block, maintaining up-to-date information about the state of the network and guaranteeing its security.
Full Bitcoin nodes differ from cryptocurrency miner nodes in that they do not compete for a fraction of the block reward. In this case, each node contains another immutable copy of the blockchain, helping to improve the overall security of the network. The number of full Bitcoin nodes in operation has recently fluctuated, according to the latest data, from 7 to 11 thousand units. Today there are 7,464 of them – this is exactly the number called by the Bitnodes platform.
It is important to note that it is impossible to name the exact number of nodes in the network. Some of them are not attuned to interact, so they essentially remain invisible. According to experts, such nodes can work behind a firewall, using special protocols like Tor, or simply be set to refuse to «listen» to connections with other network participants.
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Jack signed the tweet with the words «running bitcoin», reports Cointelegraph. Thus, he made it clear to his subscribers – now there are 5.2 million – what he is doing at this time.
Jack’s signature sounds like a reference to the same message posted by programmer Hal Finney back in the early days of the cryptocurrency. Recall that the developer became the first recipient of a BTC transaction from the creator of the cryptocurrency Satoshi Nakamoto and her active fan. Finney also mentioned Bitcoin for the first time on Twitter.
The screenshot shows Dorsey’s computer in sync with the Bitcoin blockchain. Recall that to start a full node, the user needs to download the current history of the block chain, which currently has a size of about 325 GB. The blockchain synchronization process can take several weeks, depending on the computer and internet speed.
Dorsey’s screenshot shows that he was able to sync only 2 percent of the blockchain. Dorsey noted that he configured the node using a Macbook on the M1, the latest in Apple’s line of laptop processors.
And although the entrepreneur did not share with the subscribers the details on the type of purpose of the node and other important details, his message in any case can be considered a positive for the cryptocurrency industry. It proves that more and more famous people support decentralization and contribute to its popularization.
We believe that the future of cryptocurrencies will be even brighter due to this. Still, among the five million subscribers, there will definitely be people who were not familiar with the blockchain asset industry, but will now contact them.
