Are you running a Bitcoin node? You SHOULD be

[AverageGlabella]

Before I list why you should be running your own Bitcoin node I just want to say that there is no monetary gain for those that are running a Bitcoin node. You will not receive transaction fees or rewards for it. What you will receive is the gratitude from the Bitcoin community for making it less centralized and overall more secure.

1. It makes the network more secure.

A full bitcoin node is constantly verifying and relaying every block and transaction that is on the Blockchain. This means that its ensuring the legitimacy of the network. When someone sends a transaction on the network it is verified by all the nodes connected to the network. The more nodes verifying this information means its less likely that there will be any errors and that the rules are being followed. This means that nodes can reject any blocks, transactions that might not follow the consensus rules of Bitcoin. If the Bitcoin network forked and an alternative chain was implemented nodes run by people looking after the Bitcoin network would be able to reject this or accept it if they think its bettering the Bitcoin network.

2. More privacy for you
If you use SPV wallets such as electrum as an example you know that these clients connect to an external sever which could be controlled by anyone. Lets say that the NSA control the node that you are connecting to and they want information on whether you are avoiding tax through Bitcoin when you are legally required to declare it in your jurisdiction.Having your wallet hosted on your main node ensures that it is sent here and of course you know you own this node.

3. The network is less centralized
Running a node reduces the chances of a small amount of people owning several nodes and therefore be able to invade the privacy of others as well as possibly support hostile hard forks. By running a node yourself you will be able to make the decision yourself and not rely on others. If someone who had enough resources to buy out those running nodes or simply have a large majority of nodes then they would be able to perform a hostile takeover if a hard fork was done.

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[LTU_btc]

Good suggestions, but running a full node isn't for me. I know these things why running a full node is recommended (more secured and less centralized network, more privacy and etc), but my computer is just too old and slow. I predict it would take very long time to download Bitcoin Core wallet with full blockchain with my current internet speed. I don't even have enough space on my PC. Over 145 Gbs are needed. But when I will buy new PC I will consider running a full node. I'm not only sure about electricity consumption - does full node seriously affect it?

[Jet Cash]

So it seems that the disincentive is the time spent in downloading the blockchain, and having to store it.

[AverageGlabella]

So it seems that the disincentive is the time spent in downloading the blockchain, and having to store it.

Possibly and maybe the assumption that it requires technical knowledge when in reality it doesn't. I think a lot of people coming into Bitcoin are put off the by the fact that it seems to have a reputation that only tech savvy and computer scientists will be able to understand and contribute to the network. In reality anyone that runs a full Bitcoin client can contribute to the network. I understand from the point of view that it requires money but if you are truly investing in Bitcoin and have faith in the technology investing your time in a full Bitcoin node would make sense. You are directly supporting the network and making it safer for everyone investing in it.

There is numerous tutorials out there to get it setup too so its not that the resources are lacking. Downloading he latest Bitcoin Core version and getting up to date with the Blockchain and keeping it up is all that is required. The limiting factors are the hardware and electricity. Hard drives can be picked up cheap these days and and the hardware required to run a node is pretty unsubstantial and most laptops can run it. You could even pick up a raspberry pi and hook up a storage drive capable of storing the Blockchain which is currently below 200GB. Raspberry pi would use less electricity than a full blown computer too. You could also go and get a server which are fairly cheap for the hardware required to run a Bitcoin node. Anyone that has any interest in setting up a node please contact me and I'll help you as much as I can.

Good suggestions, but running a full node isn't for me. I know these things why running a full node is recommended (more secured and less centralized network, more privacy and etc), but my computer is just too old and slow. I predict it would take very long time to download Bitcoin Core wallet with full blockchain with my current internet speed. I don't even have enough space on my PC. Over 145 Gbs are needed. But when I will buy new PC I will consider running a full node. I'm not only sure about electricity consumption - does full node seriously affect it?

Like I said above have you considered a Raspberry Pi? They are cheap and are capable of running a node. You could prune some data from the Blockchain if you needed too. Electricity entirely depends on your rates around you and how much your computer uses. If you are getting a new computer then this will be hard to judge. However if you are soley running a bitcoin node there are better options such as renting a virtual server for next to nothing. Its worth the investment

[hugeblack]

You can add how to run a Bitcoin node with the lowest bandwidth and hard disk space? "I think this is the basic problem to avoid using this wallet."
The other points are the essential features of Bitcoin node

2. More privacy for you
If you use SPV wallets such as electrum as an example you know that these clients connect to an external sever which could be controlled by anyone. Lets say that the NSA control the node that you are connecting to and they want information on whether you are avoiding tax through Bitcoin when you are legally required to declare it in your jurisdiction.Having your wallet hosted on your main node ensures that it is sent here and of course you know you own this node.

In fact, I did not understand the importance of this part until I encountered a problem with ShapeShift.
So far, I do not think it's a severe problem, but everything could change in the future.

[AverageGlabella]

You can add how to run a Bitcoin node with the lowest bandwidth and hard disk space? "I think this is the basic problem to avoid using this wallet."
The other points are the essential features of Bitcoin node

2. More privacy for you
If you use SPV wallets such as electrum as an example you know that these clients connect to an external sever which could be controlled by anyone. Lets say that the NSA control the node that you are connecting to and they want information on whether you are avoiding tax through Bitcoin when you are legally required to declare it in your jurisdiction.Having your wallet hosted on your main node ensures that it is sent here and of course you know you own this node.

In fact, I did not understand the importance of this part until I encountered a problem with ShapeShift.
So far, I do not think it's a severe problem, but everything could change in the future.

I think privacy should always be taken seriously and just because it might not be a known issue right now I think we should be taking all the precautions we can just because they are already available to be used.

[goddog]

I think privacy should always be taken seriously and just because it might not be a known issue right now I think we should be taking all the precautions we can just because they are already available to be used.

Privacy? PRIVACY? Everyone is happy to send kyc documents to exchanges and you say to run a full node because of privacy?

[AverageGlabella]

Privacy? PRIVACY? Everyone is happy to send kyc documents to exchanges and you say to run a full node because of privacy?

That is what I'm saying. I do not know about you but not everyone sends their identity and documents to exchanges and that's why the effort to get decentralized exchanges mainstream is being pushed so hard. P2P exchanges are a thing which usually do not require any KYC.

If you do not think running a node yourself is protecting or at least advocating better privacy then I would complete disagree with you and be intrigued why you think it does not.

[goddog]

Privacy? PRIVACY? Everyone is happy to send kyc documents to exchanges and you say to run a full node because of privacy?

That is what I'm saying. I do not know about you but not everyone sends their identity and documents to exchanges and that's why the effort to get decentralized exchanges mainstream is being pushed so hard. P2P exchanges are a thing which usually do not require any KYC.

If you do not think running a node yourself is protecting or at least advocating better privacy then I would complete disagree with you and be intrigued why you think it does not.

I'm 100% with you, privacy is very important, Anne Frank was a criminal !!!
Running a full node is the only way to use bitcoin and keep some privacy. But there are so many ways for an attacker to break your privacy that running a full node alone gives to you a very little additional protection. So I think advertising a full node to keep the privacy will only misguide newbies.

[squatter]

So it seems that the disincentive is the time spent in downloading the blockchain, and having to store it.

You don't need to run an archival node in order to have full node security:

Archival Nodes
A subset of full nodes also accept incoming connections and upload old blocks to other peers on the network. This happens if the software is run with -listen=1 as is default. Contrary to some popular misconceptions, being an archival node is not necessary to being a full node. If a user's bandwidth is constrained then they can use -listen=0, if their disk space is constrained they can use pruning, all the while still being a fully-validating node that enforces bitcoin's consensus rules and contributing to bitcoin's overall security.

With features like blocksonly mode and pruning, bandwidth and disk space limitations aren't as problematic now. So bootstrap time is indeed one of the biggest disincentives, but even that has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years.

[funsponge]

I'm 100% with you, privacy is very important, Anne Frank was a criminal !!!
Running a full node is the only way to use bitcoin and keep some privacy. But there are so many ways for an attacker to break your privacy that running a full node alone gives to you a very little additional protection. So I think advertising a full node to keep the privacy will only misguide newbies.

I guess running a node yourself is better than trusting someone else though so its still probably good practice to do it to avoid issues that the OP provided.

I'm curious though was you are referring to when you say there is many ways to break someones privacy?

[goddog]

I'm 100% with you, privacy is very important, Anne Frank was a criminal !!!
Running a full node is the only way to use bitcoin and keep some privacy. But there are so many ways for an attacker to break your privacy that running a full node alone gives to you a very little additional protection. So I think advertising a full node to keep the privacy will only misguide newbies.

I guess running a node yourself is better than trusting someone else though so its still probably good practice to do it to avoid issues that the OP provided.

I'm curious though was you are referring to when you say there is many ways to break someones privacy?

centralized exchanges, kyc, blockexplorers, social networks accounts, javascripts, cookies, malewares ................ the list is very long.
dex like bisq can help a little, but not so much against someone rich able to pay fees.

...

However if you are soley running a bitcoin node there are better options such as renting a virtual server for next to nothing. Its worth the investment
...

Please don't. running a full node from a vps is not an option. It is a nosense. If you run a full node from a vps you have to trust your vps sysadmin as they can allways login to your vps, edit your blockchain copy, steal your bitcoins and so on, and you will never notice it.

[funsponge]

centralized exchanges, kyc, blockexplorers, social networks accounts, javascripts, cookies, malewares ................ the list is very long.
dex like bisq can help a little, but not so much against someone rich able to pay fees.

Most of these things you have listed are all optional. Social media accounts can only be linked when you have posted the address publicly with them. Javascript and cookies can be disabled via extensions. Malware can be avoided by using safe practices. If you have malware though the least of your concerns would be privacy they likely already have taken your coins. Blockexplorers only list the Blockchain. KYC can be avoided by trading person 2 person through websites like localbitcoins. Do not use centralized exchanges. I do not see how any of these issues are related to privacy with Bitcoin though.

[goddog]

Most of these things you have listed are all optional.

wrong, privacy should cover everything or it is a nosense.

Blockexplorers only list the Blockchain.

ofcourse, but if you use them to check balance you have the same problem as with an SPV wallet.

KYC can be avoided by trading person 2 person through websites like localbitcoins.
Do not use centralized exchanges.

using person2person trading is safe until your partner is an NSA secret agent. Also localbitcoins is centralized, and  they can start asking kyc too. already happened

I do not see how any of these issues are related to privacy with Bitcoin though.

if you become a target they will find you, and your bitcoins.

[OgNasty]

Running a Bitcoin node is an easy way to get involved and be a contributor. Whether or not there are additional benefits is trivial if you love Bitcoin.

[pooya87]

~ If you run a full node from a vps you have to trust your vps sysadmin as they can allways login to your vps, edit your blockchain copy, steal your bitcoins and so on, and you will never notice it.

when using a VPS you don't store your bitcoins there too! that would be obviously dumb. you store your bitcoins in a cold storage or on your desktop at the very least then you connect to your node on the VPS through JSON-RPC commands and do things such as broadcasting your transactions, checking your balance,...
if someone gains access to your VPS the only thing they can do is to change your blockchain so that you don't see a received transaction or see a fake on or see one confirmed or not. that is important as long as you are receiving sensitive transactions in my opinion.

[goddog]

when using a VPS you don't store your bitcoins there too! that would be obviously dumb. you store your bitcoins in a cold storage or on your desktop at the very least then you connect to your node on the VPS through JSON-RPC commands and do things such as broadcasting your transactions, checking your balance,...

ok if you are not dumb you will not store your bitcoins there, but your balance can be faked. Also if you don't set txindex=1 your privacy is lost too.

if someone gains access to your VPS the only thing they can do is to change your blockchain so that you don't see a received transaction or see a fake on or see one confirmed or not. that is important as long as you are receiving sensitive transactions in my opinion.

if your blockchain copy can be faked where is the point of running a full node you can not trust in?

[r1s2g3]

Good suggestions, but running a full node isn't for me. I know these things why running a full node is recommended (more secured and less centralized network, more privacy and etc), but my computer is just too old and slow. I predict it would take very long time to download Bitcoin Core wallet with full blockchain with my current internet speed. I don't even have enough space on my PC. Over 145 Gbs are needed. But when I will buy new PC I will consider running a full node. I'm not only sure about electricity consumption - does full node seriously affect it?

If you are worrying about your old computer then raspberry pi can be good option for you.
If you are worrying about the blockchain size /internet speed then pruned full node will be a good option.
Good news is that ,you can run a pruned full node in raspberry pi.

Below are some links for your reference for DIY raspberry pi full pruned node.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2204184.0
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/5yubg0/run_a_014_fullnode_on_raspberrypi3_prunedless/
https://medium.com/@meeDamian/bitcoin-full-node-on-rbp3-revised-88bb7c8ef1d1

[goddog]

Good news is that ,you can run a pruned full node in raspberry pi.

bananapi have a similar price and performances than a raspberrypi(about 40$) but it have a SATA port so you can connect an HDD to it and run a full archivial node on it.
But It have the same problem than raspberrypi. Initial Sync have to be done on a pc with at least 2GB RAM or the Initial sync will take years to finish.

[AverageGlabella]

Good news is that ,you can run a pruned full node in raspberry pi.

bananapi have a similar price and performances than a raspberrypi(about 40$) but it have a SATA port so you can connect an HDD to it and run a full archivial node on it.
But It have the same problem than raspberrypi. Initial Sync have to be done on a pc with at least 2GB RAM or the Initial sync will take years to finish.

My raspberry PI did the sync okay. It was not to the standard of a computer but it did it.