Bitcoin nodes do not pay the ones that provide them with valuable power to keep the nodes up.
That being said, the nodes still are quite significant because they are the checkpoints that allow users to HODL up data to that very instance when the last transaction on the network was made. Yes, the nodes keep the system decentralized by acting as archives that don’t necessarily matter to the whole network.
Not all Bitcoin nodes are essential
Say a node was to go down. Let us assume a couple more were compromised, yet, the system would still run. The Bitcoin blockchain is made up of nine thousand two hundred and seventy-seven (9,277) Bitcoin nodes. Unless thirty-three percent (33%) of the nodes from the total count work, the system would work.
Looking at the snapshot, we don’t see much decentralization with nodes clustering in the United States of America and Germany. The remainder of the nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-two (9722) are distributed amongst France, Netherlands, China, Singapore, Canada, United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, and other countries.
A full node or a master node is responsible for data coordination between other nodes on the network. Managing a full node is another monstrosity in itself. Running one would need five ($5) dollars to ($20) dollars for the electricity consumed while two hundred (200) gigabytes of storage space would be reserved for the transactional data.
Setting up a node isn’t that expensive and the trade-off here is straightforward. So, unless you like community service or would like to brag about being a node owner, you’re eligible to set up one. But there’s this one problem that setting up a node is a real chore- hectic and tiresome. Missing out on a few steps- that you considered insignificant- might prove hazardous.
Bitcoin nodes should have self-deployment procedures
Setting up a node shouldn’t be that difficult and the fact that there are no returns on this investment for a twenty (20) step process isn’t what anyone setting up one should be concerned about. The process should be relatively easy, says the director of Business Development at Kraken, Dan Held in an episode of the podcast, “What Bitcoin Did”. He set up a node after all these years given the fact that Held has been around the guys that have been toying with the blockchain in hardware mode since 2011.
