[CHALLENGE] Run A Bitcoin Node: 14 Days To 14 Merits

[NotATether]

To incentivize people to run a node, I am running a merit challenge. Run Bitcoin Core on your computer for 14 days, to receive 14 merits from me!

Challenge Rules:

• This challenge is open for anyone with <1000 merit, subject to the requirements below.
• You must have at least 30 activity and 50 posts to participate.
• "Brand New" rank accounts are not allowed to particpate.
• You need to download Bitcoin Core (any version from this decade) and run bitcoind, the bitcoin daemon, for at least 14 days.
  
• The node must be running on mainnet, which is the default setting. Alternative blockchains like testnet are not allowed.
• Every 24 hours, you need to run bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo and paste the output here in code-blocks like below. This is to prove that you are actually running a node.
  
  
  Code:

  {
    "chain" : "str",
    "blocks" : n,
    "headers" : n,
    "bestblockhash" : "str",
    "difficulty" : n,
    "mediantime" : n,
    "verificationprogress" : n,
    "initialblockdownload" : true|false,
    "chainwork" : "hex",
    "size_on_disk" : n,
    "pruned" : true|false,
    "pruneheight" : n,
    "automatic_pruning" : true|false,
    "prune_target_size" : n,
    "softforks" : {
      "xxxx" : {
        "type" : "str",
        "bip9" : {
          "status" : "str",
          "bit" : n,
          "start_time" : xxx,
          "timeout" : xxx,
          "since" : n,
          "statistics" : {
            "period" : n,
            "threshold" : n,
            "elapsed" : n,
            "count" : n,
            "possible" : true|false
          }
        },
        "height" : n,
        "active" : true|false
      },
      ...
    },
    "warnings" : "str"
  }
  
  

  
  If running the GUI version of Core, you MUST use the console to run gtblockchaininfo:
   
  1. Open Bitcoin Core or run bitcoin-qt.
  2. Go to Window > Console or press Ctrl - T.
  3. In the console, type getblockchaininfo and copy the output to your Bitcointalk post. The text you need to copy is the white (or black) text under the word "getblockchaininfo":
  
  
  
  Please do not copy any of the other text in the window. Only the output.
  
  Screenshots are no longer accepted as of now. Please do not post a screenshot - I'll just ignore it/tell you to copy the text output.
  
  
• It is alright if you forget to do a 24-hour update but don't give me just one or two updates and expect a reward for that.
• "Merit begging" posts will be deleted.
• You may run with any other configuration options as you like, such as pruning.
• Nodes that have synced at least 99% of the blockchain (verificationprogress field in the output) will be given 14 merits. You will not get any merits unless your chain is near-fully synced.
• Do not enroll alt accounts.
• To join, start a bitcoin node and paste the output of bitcoin-cli getblockchain info here. That will be considered the first day.
• If your account gets banned by the administration, you will be removed from the challenge.
• Warning: If you are caught Photoshopping or otherwise falsifying your report, you will be removed immediately and I will give you a negative tag.
  
• Failure to post a report within 30 days may lead to your removal from this challenge. Please communicate all delays/absentia to me to avoid being removed.

.
FAQ:

Can I join this challenge even if I am already running a node?

Yes, subject to the conditions above.

Help! I don't have enough disk space to download the blockchain!

Open a file browser, go to Bitcoin's data directory, create or edit a file named bitcoin.conf and add the following contents:

Code:

# Prune blockchain to 20,000MB (you may use a different value)
prune=20000

Then restart Bitcoin Core.

My node crashed! Do I have to start over?

Yes, but the progress day will be preserved.

How can I make Bitcoin Core sync faster?

If you have 16GB of spare RAM or larger, open the bitcoin.conf file and add the following line:

Code:

dbcache=16384  # 16GB

Then restart Bitcoin Core. You should notice much less disk activity.

Bitcoin Core is showing a small window with a message that says "Replaying blocks".

You must wait for it to finish. It is fixing up its block database from an abrupt shutdown. This screen does not count towards your progress.

Do I need to create a wallet with my username on it before I can participate?

No, you don't!


I reserve the right to modify the rules or end this challenge at any time, with immediate effect, for whatever reason.

Good luck, and happy node running!

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[tech30338]

I would like to try this since i have not try this before, only run other nodes , it said that 500Gb for first download, so meaning i need like not less than 600gb disk space right correct me if im wrong sir or can i select prune? thank you.

[NotATether]

I would like to try this since i have not try this before, only run other nodes , it said that 500Gb for first download, so meaning i need like not less than 600gb disk space right correct me if im wrong sir thank you.

Yes, that is correct.

Or if you have less disk space then you can run Bitcoin Core in pruning mode like this: bitcoind -prune=2000 this makes Bitcoin Core use up to 2000 Megabytes of disk space (2GB) by deleting older blocks. You can set it to any other value you want, for example bitcoind -prune=100000 for 100,000 Megabytes (100GB). But if possible, it is recommended to store all blocks.

[tech30338]

I would like to try this since i have not try this before, only run other nodes , it said that 500Gb for first download, so meaning i need like not less than 600gb disk space right correct me if im wrong sir thank you.

Yes, that is correct.

Or if you have less disk space then you can run Bitcoin Core in pruning mode like this: bitcoind -prune=2000 this makes Bitcoin Core use up to 2000 Megabytes of disk space (2GB) by deleting older blocks. You can set it to any other value you want, for example bitcoind -prune=100000 for 100,000 Megabytes (100GB). But if possible, it is recommended to store all blocks.

Thank you sir I have already started it, trying to learn other things in the forum like this one

[digaran]

So if I set a limit for 1GB prune mode, it will only download the last 1 gigabyte of block data? And that could earn me 14 merits? If yes then I'm on it boss. 😉

[tech30338]

So if I set a limit for 1GB prune mode, it will only download the last 1 gigabyte of block data? And that could earn me 14 merits? If yes then I'm on it boss. 😉

i think daily for 14days you have to submit this

Every 24 hours, you need to run bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo and paste the output here in code-blocks like below. This is to prove that you are actually running a node.

OP need this as to see if you really run the node for 14days

[ABCbits]

• This challenge is open for anyone with <1000 merit.

<1000 merit in total received merit or including airdrop?

• You may run with any other configuration options as you like, such as pruning.

Since pruning is allowed, i expect someone will try download pruned node snapshot from 3rd party in order to skip download first 500GB+ of blockchain.

[Ultegra134]

Great challenge, and hats off to you for contributing to the community. I'm also considering participating when I get back home, even though I've never done it before, so it'll be interesting to see how it works.

Since pruning is allowed, i expect someone will try download pruned node snapshot from 3rd party in order to skip download first 500GB+ of blockchain.

Isn't it understandable, though? I've got two drives on my laptop, one SSD and one HDD, but both are barely over 700 GB in capacity, with the HDD used to store all large files whatsoever. I'm unable to download that much data, but I could do it with 60–70 GB, or perhaps a little more, if that's okay.

[NotATether]

So if I set a limit for 1GB prune mode, it will only download the last 1 gigabyte of block data? And that could earn me 14 merits? If yes then I'm on it boss. 😉

That's not how Bitcoin works. It downloads all blocks from start to finish, but it discards all but the last N megabytes of recent block data.

Since pruning is allowed, i expect someone will try download pruned node snapshot from 3rd party in order to skip download first 500GB+ of blockchain.

No pruned blockstate images exist in the wild though - someone would actually have to run the client in order to make such data.

I do not count "airdropped merit" differently from any other merits.

[dkbit98]

To incentivize people to run a node, I am running a merit challenge. Run Bitcoin Core on your computer for 14 days, to receive 14 merits from me!

Well done.
To join and support this initiative I will send additional random number of merits to all (or most) of the members that are confirmed by NotATether to really run a bitcoin node.

Fellow members please don't try to cheat in any way, if you don't want to earn something else instead of merits.

[digaran]

That's not how Bitcoin works. It downloads all blocks from start to finish, but it discards all but the last N megabytes of recent block data.

Convince me why that should be the case, to first download the whole blockchain just to discard it later? Who designed that logic?

[Dunamisx]

This is not even about the merits offered, but the fact that many will be privileged to make use of this for their very first time in life, so I see it as an encouragement to motivate others get themselves busy with something meaningful and important that could help their cryptocurrency career, we are doing all this things not for now but also for the sake of future benefits that might comes in through it, if we are into something, then learning to be the best and do the best is never an offense if the avenue is created for us to learn, develope and improve ourselves, thanks to NotATether for this.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Isn't it understandable, though?

It defeats a large part of the reason to run your own node though. If you are going to download a snapshot from elsewhere and trust it completely, then just continue connecting to third party nodes and trust them completely. The whole point is to download and verify the data yourself.

I've got two drives on my laptop, one SSD and one HDD, but both are barely over 700 GB in capacity, with the HDD used to store all large files whatsoever. I'm unable to download that much data, but I could do it with 60–70 GB, or perhaps a little more, if that's okay.

You don't need to store the full 500 GB while performing the initial block download. If you set to prune at 50 GB, then it will only ever keep 50 GB on disk despite downloading the full 500 GB.

If you want to store the bulk of the data on your HDD, I would suggest installing Core on your SSD and then moving the blocks folder to your HDD. It will run much faster this way.

[DYING_S0UL]

Had some questions/confusions etc!

1. How do I run this? Never used this, so I have 0 idea. Need a guide.
2. I have very less storage. Total 250GB SSD. But only 70-80GB free.
3. What if there were frequent load shedding or network/wifi/isp related problems? Where I live load shedding is very common and my internet connection isn't always stable. It's very common.
4. How much bandwidth would I need? My connection is only 5 mbps.

[NotATether]

Had some questions/confusions etc!

1. How do I run this? Never used this, so I have 0 idea. Need a guide.
2. I have very less storage. Total 250GB SSD. But only 70-80GB free.
3. What if there were frequent load shedding or network/wifi/isp related problems? Where I live load shedding is very common and my internet connection isn't always stable. It's very common.
4. How much bandwidth would I need? My connection is only 5 mbps.

1. Download Bitcoin Core from https://bitcoincore.org or bitcoin.org and then either run the bitcoind application in the terminal or click on bitcoin-qt for a graphical screen.
2. Use pruning, see above.
3. It should not affect Bitcoin Core because it will just resume where it left off after a connection interrupt.
4. I'm not sure whether 5mbps can download the blockchain in 14 days but this is supposed to be running 24/7, so maybe someone can do the napkin math here and work out how many days that would take.

Edit: the theoretical maximum is 756GB in that timeframe. You should be fine.

[digaran]

Lol think about the bandwidth charges they will have to pay, some ISPs limit their download bandwidth and would charge extra for each Gig of data after the limit has reached.
Anyways, still no answer as to why I need to first download the entire chain just to discard most of it later? Maybe because I suffer from a mental retardness? Lol.

Also, this could be considered as merit buying, think about it, one could pay for a VPS and just like that farm 14 + some extra on top from you and other generous sources. So think about a solution to stop such abuses. 🤓

[Ultegra134]

It defeats a large part of the reason to run your own node though. If you are going to download a snapshot from elsewhere and trust it completely, then just continue connecting to third party nodes and trust them completely. The whole point is to download and verify the data yourself.

Right, I was mostly referring to the pruning part and not the downloading a snapshot from a third party, but didn't refer to that in my initial post.
You don't need to store the full 500 GB while performing the initial block download. If you set to prune at 50 GB, then it will only ever keep 50 GB on disk despite downloading the full 500 GB.

If you want to store the bulk of the data on your HDD, I would suggest installing Core on your SSD and then moving the blocks folder to your HDD. It will run much faster this way.

I've started downloading Bitcoin Core now, and I've set the prune block storage to 50 GB. Unfortunately, storage capacity isn't my main issue, but my internet's limited capabilities. I used to have over 50 Mbps on my previous house; now I'm getting 10 or 12 at most. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind if I downloaded as much as 200 GB of data.



No worries, it'll be finished in a few years 

[o_e_l_e_o]

No worries, it'll be finished in a few years 

Haha. I have always found the "estimated time left" on Core to be notoriously unreliable. Assuming you are downloading at least 1 MB/s (12 Mbps should give you 1.5 MB/s as a theoretical maximum), then it should take around 150 hours to download the ~540 GB blockchain, which is the equivalent of 6.25 days if you run non-stop (assuming as well that your hardware can keep up with its speed of verification).

[tech30338]

1st day:

Code:

"chain": "main",
  "blocks": 585581,
  "headers": 824274,
  "bestblockhash": "00000000000000000000280fa27a49df13d73341449e6715b156eeeae14aa6c3",
  "difficulty": 9064159826491.41,
  "time": 1563234585,
  "mediantime": 1563233207,
  "verificationprogress": 0.4795904701124261,
  "initialblockdownload": true,
  "chainwork": "000000000000000000000000000000000000000007371f704bc72e7b61a9b566",
  "size_on_disk": 4615828226,
  "pruned": true,
  "pruneheight": 582023,
  "automatic_pruning": true,
  "prune_target_size": 4999610368,
  "warnings": ""

4 years and 24weeks reaming until sync

[DYING_S0UL]

snip

Did it worked? Have I done everything correctly? It's my first time running a node, so correct me if I'm wrong anywhere. I haven't touched any settings. Everything shown in the images were the default ones. Should I change anything? Also I'm not really sure if my bandwidth connection is fit for running a node, as you see it says 30MB for 2 minutes,lol (I know it's very slow, can't really help with that). At least I'm trying.....

DAY 1