Why you should run a Bitcoin node

[Poker Player]

Are you implying that running what takes 500 gigabyte is simple to run? Also it will take more than that as you continue to go online with it. Not everyone can run bitcoin node.

Know that if you run SPV wallet, it can make privacy more difficult but it is still your coins on blockchain if you use noncustodial wallet.

When I changed my laptop I thought about setting up a node but I was looking for information and I saw that it was not like downloading a software and clicking on it. I saw it a bit complicated, I kept postponing it and in the end I gave it up.

I don't know if the devs could simplify it somehow? So that ordinary people could have nodes. Although I guess it will be like mining, at the beginning you could mine with a laptop and as time has gone by that has become impossible.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

If not running a Bitcoin node, then which crypto wallet is recommended?  Thanks

There are wallets in their numbers that are safe enough for us to use, all we may have to do is by maintaining a perfect storage means for our private keys for using them, some good examples were as listed.

Passport
Electrum
Sparrow
Bluewallet

[Reatim]

Installing a node on your computer is very simple and doesn't require many resources.

Yes it does not need many resources however you would need the latest and best possible resources. It would cost quite a few bucks to buy a computer enough to process running a node. You might also need to buy extra storage since running a node would require huge storage. Internet connection would also cost you. Especially that you will need the possible fastest one.

The Bitcoin client doesn't need to be online 24/7; you can use it only when making transactions or occasionally activate it to sync with the network.

No, they don’t but it would help the blockchain more if they were constantly online.

[Abiky]

If you hold Bitcoin, you should install one of the Bitcoin client software implementations, such as Bitcoin Core or Bitcoin Knots, on your computer. For example, if you have hardware wallets, especially those for scam shitcoins  like Ledger or Trezor, you cannot be sure if you truly own Bitcoin when connecting to these wallet applications. These applications may show you numbers on the screen, but that doesn't mean you own real Bitcoin. Gold stopped being a medium of exchange and a unit of account in the 16th and 17th centuries precisely because counterfeit gold coins appeared, and it became difficult to verify whether the gold was real. Gold was placed in bank vaults, and banks issued IOU certificates (banknotes). Thus, banknotes became the medium of exchange and the unit of account

This marked the beginning of the fiat standard. Bitcoin is much better than gold because it is easier to transfer and store without any costs, but most importantly, verification is very simple. Anyone can verify if they own Bitcoin by running a node. Don’t trust, verify

Installing a node on your computer is very simple and doesn't require many resources. The Bitcoin client doesn't need to be online 24/7; you can use it only when making transactions or occasionally activate it to sync with the network. The easiest way to use it is with the Sparrow wallet.

Running a full Bitcoin node is a great way to help support the network. But not everyone is capable of doing this. The amount of resources needed sometimes becomes a barrier to people struggling with their financial lives. 500GB of blockchain data might not sound like much, but in developing countries (third world) it does. Most people living in such countries can't afford to buy hard drives with large capacity to store such data. Not to mention the bandwidth requirements. Their only option would be to run an SPV node (light node). And that won't be much help to the network. Especially when nodes need to store the long history of Blockchain transactions for self-preservation of the Bitcoin network.

If this is the case with Bitcoin, forks with bigger block sizes (Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV) are even worse. I wouldn't recommend running a full Bitcoin node using the "Bitcoin Knots" software. Not after the developer wanted to censor Ordinals inscriptions. If you run it, you are supporting such censorship (which goes against Bitcoin's principles). Just my two sats.