What you need
- A computer that can stay on: an old laptop, a mini PC, or a ready made node box.
- A fast SSD with enough space for the full chain, or a smaller one in pruned mode.
- A stable internet connection; the initial download is the heavy part.
- Software: Bitcoin Core, or a packaged system that installs it for you.
Pruned mode checks everything like a full node, then deletes old blocks it no longer needs, keeping only a few gigabytes. It still verifies the whole history; it just does not keep it.
What you gain
- Verification: you know the payments you receive are real, by your own rules.
- Privacy: your wallet stops asking strangers' servers about your addresses.
- A voice: your node is one more that refuses invalid blocks.
Connect your wallet to your own node to get the full benefit. A node running alone while your wallet still queries a company's server protects the network, not your privacy.
▶ SEE IT IN THE MACHINEThree of the ten nodes in the hall stand next to mining machines: a farm, a workshop and a garage. Verifying is open to anyone.