Oddbean

The bullish case for Noderunners Now that privacy is on the verge of being outlawed is the best time there has ever been to set up and run your own Bitcoin node. This is probably going to sound like a sales pitch because it's coming from me, but that's really not the intention of this post. It doesn't matter which node implementation you choose, just choose the one you want or whatever is the most convenient for you to get started. Run Core, run Knots, run Start9, run BTCpayServer, Parmanoodle, Citadel, my god, even Umbrel if you must. The important thing is that it's YOUR node. Think about it. We have ~18000 Bitcoin nodes online which is a laughable number when you compare it to the number of people on Nostr, Bitcoin talk and Twitter. At least three of those 18k are mine, and I suspect more people run multiple nodes, so the actual number of noderunning individuals is probably another magnitude smaller. These Noderunners are serving the network, but much more importantly, they can verify that they get real Bitcoin when receiving UTXOs. And they can do so independently, over Tor, which means that, to this day, no one can stop them from doing so. With privacy services shutting down and wallet apps disappearing from appstores in certain jurisdictions, having your own money transmitter might not only come in handy, it could be the only way to transact if you have to. No one knows what's going to happen next, but don't make the mistake to think the EU won't follow suit. Be prepared for the when your favorite wallet shuts down. Practice recovery with Sparrow or a similar wallet which allows you to connect to a node which is behind Tor. Preferably your own, but Uncle Jim Nodes work too. Ask your friends if you can't run your own. At this point in time, individual Noderunners have not been targeted, because it's hard and the effort mostly outweighs the benefits for the gubberment, so far... And with every node coming online, it gets harder to take Bitcoin down. Which in return strengthens each and every one of us. A critical mass of NodeRunners is an unstoppable force, I don't claim to know when that critical mass is reached, but I am fucking sure it's not 18000. So, what to do now? Bust out your Raspberry Pis, RockPros, old Laptops, iMacs, PCs. whatever you have and get to work. Build a node, run it and learn to connect to it. Do it before you need it. There's no need for a clearnet connection if you're not selling stuff or are otherwise uncomfortable with linking your public IP. Running it behind Tor is absolutely fine. No need for lightning either (but it's fun if you want to). Too dystopian for you? GFY and take a look around. It's going to get worse before it can get better.

Tldr. Run a node. Use it. nostr:nevent1qqszepp8pn4ugeewsgpnlfdg6z7gh3t6hlhmlnw6e8zchfrc97jdq5spvemhxue69uhkv6tvw3jhytnwdaehgu3wwa5kuef0dec82c33vah8wurrw3jx2cesv9snqvrgveungmrkv9jxvar4xquxxcmn8ymrwdmdwgmnx6pev3j8vvn6wemnsen489ek6mt9wfe8z0mzwfhkzerrv9ehg0t5wf6k2q3ql5pxvjzhw77h86tu0sml2gxg8jpwxch7fsj6d05n7vuqpq75v34sxpqqqqqqzv8pyjn

What if I told you **1 Click from custodial LN to Self-Sovereige node in the cloud ** Someone's a massive innovator ahead of the rest of us ;) Just experienced the beta. its coming soon. #lightning #noderunners nostr:note19jzzwr8tc3njaqsr87j6359u30zh40l0hlxa4jw93wj8stay6pfqymhstg

I started with bitcoind on my desktop and (years later) moved to Umbrel, but after a year or so of unexplained hangups and failures, I switched to Start9. Now I have zero frustrations. Even Tor seems more reliable! If you don't have the money for the prebuilt server and you have some tech skills, build your own Start9

It would work, but that is sending an 18-wheeler to do a bicycle's job! You could run a full Bitcoin node in one VM, and mine #Monero like a boss in another. Convert the monero to sats when you get paid out.

Hmmm, I guess I need some idea of where you're at...? Info on Monero itself: https://getmonero.com Mining app I use (runs pretty efficiently on anything with a CPU, doesn't need an ASIC or GPU): https://xmrig.com/ Converting monero to sats: majesticbank.sc for on-chain, ShadowStrike for Lightning https://kycnot.me/service/shadow%20strike

Relax Printer, I was telling Lighthouse he can do a LOT more with that rig, and Diyana asked me a question. If anyone asked you a question in one of my threads and you answer it, thats not wierd at all. But its polite to keep it short and direct the questioner to outside links, mmmm?

Those 1800 PUBLIC nodes are serving some others LSPs The few LSP are serving more than 1800 users with PRIVATE nodes. Private nodes are more than you cam imagine and are the ones that are making more txs than you can imagine. Public nodes and LSPs have an important role in LN, no doubt about that. But never forget also about private nodes. As I said here: note1fj8vwytyqtl0zdch8n5cqgwtmz8grd9zdh79d590axjrphq79qjsxlvt44

Absolutely agree with the bullish case for Noderunners! Running your own Bitcoin node is crucial for maintaining privacy and security in an increasingly uncertain world. It's empowering to have control over your own money transmitter and be able to verify transactions independently. Let's continue to strengthen the network and protect our financial sovereignty. #NodeRunners #Bitcoin #Privacy #Security

If you are receiving an on-chain transaction and not using your own node, you are trusting your wallet provider's default remote electrum server to not lie to you about receiving said transaction. Also you shouldn't receive large amounts of BTC on a phone. Air gap your signing keys.

We need to persuade people not to sell or discard their old computers, but to transform them into nodes. Older PCs may no longer meet the specifications needed to run their software or games for many, but they are perfect for serving as nodes.

The beauty of Monero is, that running a node increases the privacy and therefore is a direct incentive for those seeking maximum privacy. That and the successful P2P mining implementation is the reason why we see more active nodes on Monero than on Bitcoin.

BIP324 could allow us to shape and obfuscate network traffic to make it hard to detect bitcoin nodes. Look into it and publicly support it and other similar privacy BIPs if you’re serious about this.