Posts Tagged ‘Bitcoin Full Node’

The Size of the Bitcoin Blockchain Data Files Has Reached 50GB

29, Sep 2015

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Earlier this year we have reported when the Bitcoin Blockchain data files have passed the 40GB mark and now, just about three and a half months later, the data files have reached a total size of 50GB. This all comes as a result of the increased number of transactions and the wider usage and adoption of Bitcoin, but as the size of the Blockchain data continues to grow it also becomes harder for users to run a full local wallet. An alternative is to go for a lighter version of a Bitcoin wallet that does not need all of the Blockchain data stored locally. You can also go for a service offering online Bitcoin wallets a more attractive choice as they will save you the trouble of taking up quite a lot of space on your hard drive and the slow update times if you do not run the wallet often enough to keep it synchronized. Not to mention that if you are using the default data directory on your C drive you might be having trouble finding enough free space, especially if you use a smaller SSD for a system drive. The solution for this would be to move the Blockchain data files to another drive and run the Bitcoin Core client with the datadir parameter pointing it to the drive and folder you have moved the data files in like for example a second hard drive.

21 Inc Has Announced the 21 Bitcoin Computer

22, Sep 2015

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The 21 Bitcoin Computer is the first computer with native hardware and software support for the Bitcoin protocol according to the company that had made it – 21 Inc. That means the hardware to provide a constant stream of Bitcoin and the software to make that bitcoins useful for buying and selling digital goods and additionally developers can use the 21 Bitcoin Computer to quickly create apps, services, and devices that can be rented or bought for bitcoin.

Featured in the Cyber Security London conference last year, the 21 Bitcoin Computer is a special board with an ASIC mining chip that is attached to a Raspberry Pi 2 chassis, and comes with a WiFi and power adapter, 128 GB SD card, USB-to-laptop cable, and everything you need to run it either as a standalone machine or to provide bitcoin to a Mac, Windows, or Linux computer. It comes with a full copy of the Blockchain pre-loaded on a 128GB SD card meaning that the computer will briefly synchronize with the network when you plug it in, after which point it will run as a full node by default without further intervention.

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If you are interested what the dedicated ASIC chip is capable of, it seems that the 21 Bitcoin Chip has an efficiency of approximately 0.16 Joules per Gigahash and can calculate 50-125 Gigahashes per second. So apparently the focus is not only on providing you with a compact and not very powerful mining solution, but instead a device that can be used for supporting the Bitcoin network and can be used by users for offering goods or services taking payments in Bitcoin with the mining just adding a bit probably enough to cover the costs of running the hardware. You can already pre-order the 21 Bitcoin Computer for $399.99 USD and it will start shipping on November 16, 2015.

The $400 USD price tag is a bit steep if you consider the device as a Bitcoin mining-only solution due to the fact that it is not that powerful, even though it seems pretty efficient in terms of power usage even for the low hashrate it offers. It seems that was not designed to be used as a typical mining hardware like the other ASIC miners for Bitcoin, but instead the main target seem to be developers that are willing to write applications or integrate it as a part of a product or service that they are already offering as a means to integrate Bitcoin support. So miners are probably not going to be interested in the device, but developers might take some interest in this standalone solution, but it seems we’ll see what will happen in November when it hits the market.

– For additional details about the 21 Bitcoin Computer introduced by 21 Inc…

The Size of the Bitcoin Blockchain Data Files is Already Over 40GB

15, Jun 2015

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If you are using the Bitcoin Core wallet to store your Bitcoins locally on your computer you have probably noticed that the Blockchain data files have already passed the 40GB mark (about 40.8 GB at the moment). With the increasing number of transactions happening on the network the increase of the files will continue to grow constantly and this is another aspect that will cause issues for users. Apart from the serious file size there is another aspect, the time needed to synchronize the Blockchain data from scratch is quite big and it is not only dependent on the harddrive’s speed, but also on the CPU you’ve got to process all the data. If you are using the default data directory on your C drive you might be experiencing some free space issues, especially if you use a smaller SSD system drive. The solution for this would be to move the Blockchain data files to another drive and run the Bitcoin Core client with the datadir parameter pointing it to the drive an folder you have moved the data files.

Alternatively you can go for a lighter version of a wallet that does not need all of the Blockchain data stored locally such as MultiBit or Electrum. And then there is also an alternative in the form of an online Bitcoin wallet, there are multiple options available to choose from such as Coinbase, Xapo and many others. Another interesting alternative for long term investments is to use your Bitcoins, or at least some of them, to buy Gold or Silver for example from a trusted precious metals dealer accepting BTC. Then there are also many other ways to invest Bitcoins, but you should be careful as there are quite a lot of scams out there promising very high and very fast returns on your investment, so you should be extra careful with such offers.


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