Bitcoin Technology

Bitcoin Public Full Node Count Surpasses 10,000

Emilio Janus | Nov 20, 2018 | 12:00

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New data released by Coin Dance this week shows that the number of bitcoin public nodes made a significant jump. The reported 10,094 public nodes places the total number back over 10,000 for the first time since March.

Hard Core

Around 95 percent of the nodes are running Bitcoin Core, a proportion which has remained steady since early 2018. The Bitcore software follows not-so-closely behind, commanding just 2 percent of the nodes — 198 to Core’s 9648.

Then there are 56 nodes still running Bitcoin UASF, which was developed to counter miners’ reluctance to adopt SegWit back in August 2017. As Bitcoinist reported last month, many in the industry consider that movement as an emphatic victory for users over corporate interests.

After peaking at 1.35k nodes at the time of the proposed fork, UASF nodes quickly dropped off after the success of their mission. The past year has seen numbers falling more steadily to their current level. The movement and consequent hard fork of BTC 00 and BCH, did however spur an impressive increase in node uptake.

Most software iterations are currently losing nodes to Bitcoin Core. One exception to this trend is Bitcoin Knots, which has seen 10 new nodes in the last week.

Lightning Bolt

Meanwhile Lightning Network continues to go from strength to strength, racking up 4000 nodes earlier this month. This caused the main net capacity to reach an all-time high of 118 BTC.

Why Node?

Any user can set up a bitcoin full node, and there are several reasons why you might want to. Apart from the warm and fuzzy feeling you’ll get from knowing you are helping the bitcoin network, that is.

Running a node gives users increased security and privacy, as there is no need to rely on third party service providers. It also gives users a choice in how the network develops, through the software implementation you decide to run. And it isn’t as difficult or expensive as you may think.

What are your thoughts on the jump in Bitcoin nodes? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.