Full Node Count Rises As Blockchains Mature
The number of full nodes that were Bitcoin registered dropped significantly in 2016. Since then, Bitcoin devotees supposed the amount of nodes might continue to drop further. As opposed to many estimates, the count for full node BTC applications continues to soar. Thus, during the past year, its node count has increased over 106%.
A full node is a computer that is linked to a cryptocurrency’s grid and copies every block and operation on the blockchain. Since full nodes record the entire blockchain’s network activity in real time, they rely primarily on both storage and bandwidth requirements. A variety of alphanumeric assets that exploit blockchains have participants running full nodes on networks such as dash, litecoin, Bitcoin cash, ethereum, and Bitcoin core.
There are likewise so many lightweight nodes which do not download complete blockchains but somewhat authenticate transactions by downloading the associated block headers. The cheapest way of building a full node is using a Raspberry Pi computer and a one terabyte external drive for approximately $100 USD. There are many businesses that sell pre-manufactured full nodes; however, these are typically a lot more costly.
Presently, BTC has 11,703 measureable nodes that interrelate within that particular network. The number of nodes is on no occasion static but constantly varies when participants either leave the network or join. The number has increased considerably over the past year, and the 12-month average has been roughly 8,643 nodes as related by Bit nodes statistics.
There are numerous types of diverse forms of the BTC software within the grid. Statistics from Coin Dance database indicate that 9,002 nodes run the Main software, 542 Bitcoin Unlimited nodes and 294 Bit core nodes. Despite the intensity of the scaling debate all the way through the summer and into fall, nodes signaling for the user-activated-soft-fork (UASF) and Segwit2x (BTC1) endure to this day.
A chunk of Bitcoin core enthusiasts opposed the implementation of replacements and don’t endorse using them because it is presently challenging to determine whether they implement the consensus rules with peak exactness.
An additional exciting development that took place over the past year was the August 1 hard fork and the Bitcoin cash (BCH) blockchain split. Ever since the initiation of BCH nodes, alternative nodes on the BTC network have drastically reduced. Implementations such as Bitcoin Unlimited, XT, and others began to assist the BCH network and subsidize to its node count.
At present, BCH has 1,231 nodes between four types of clients. Bitcoin ABC is the dominant client with 1,024 nodes which is followed by Unlimited, XT, and some other unrecognized implementations.
On the whole, BTC and BCH blockchains have grown in size despite concerns in storage capacity. Right now, the Bitcoin core network adds roughly 50 GB a year to the blockchain’s size, and the BCH chain is already 8,517 blocks ahead of the core chain. Many would think that because BCH miners process much larger blocks, a full client’s storage size would be more significant. This is not always the case.
