Educational Post
What is Bitcoin Core?
Bitcoin Core is the primary implementation of the software that allows users to interact with the Bitcoin network. It is not owned by any company or organization, but is instead maintained and reviewed by a community of developers around the world.
The software was originally released by Satoshi Nakamoto (under the name Bitcoin), and was later renamed Bitcoin Core to avoid confusion.
What does it do?
By running the Bitcoin Core code, a user effectively acts as a node on the network. They can independently verify the validity of blocks received, as well as transactions sent by other users. This puts miners in control and means that the user does not need to trust anyone (such as a wallet provider) to see the correct view of the blockchain.
A wallet is bundled into the software. Users can use it directly from the app or attach external wallets to their node to validate transactions received.
Should I run Bitcoin Core?
Users who frequently use Bitcoin should consider running a node to take advantage of the various privacy and security benefits. A typical software wallet (which does not interface with the userâs node) queries third-party servers for the userâs balance.
This practice can be concerning because it allows the server to tie the userâs balance to their IP address. The third party can reasonably infer that the user owns the public addresses they are querying on.
In a similar vein, total reliance on a block explorer is dangerous from a transparency perspective. Since users only have a single point of reference for their balances, it is easy for the server to feed them false information.
