Learn / Go further · 4 of 5
Running your own node
A node is your own copy of the Bitcoin rules and history. It lets your wallet check payments itself instead of asking someone else.
- A node downloads and checks every block against Bitcoin's rules.
- Point your wallet at it and no outside server learns your addresses.
- A small computer and a 2 TB drive are enough.
Most wallets ask a company's server for your balance. That works, but the server learns which addresses are yours and you trust its answers. A node removes both problems. It checks every block itself and answers only to you.
Ways to run one
- Node boxes such as Start9 and Umbrel: ready-made or install-it-yourself systems with an app store for Bitcoin tools.
- Bitcoin Core on a desktop computer you leave on.
The first sync downloads the whole history, more than 750 GB in 2026, and can take a day or more. After that it keeps up on its own.
Connecting your wallet
Desktop wallets like Sparrow connect directly or through an Electrum server app on your node. Many phone wallets can too.
Not financial advice.
Want to go deeper?
Does running a node earn money?
No. A node checks transactions and blocks; mining is a separate job. Running one strengthens your own privacy and adds one more independent check on the network's rules.
Core or Knots?
Bitcoin Core is the most widely used node software. Bitcoin Knots is a smaller alternative built from the same code that filters more transactions carrying non-payment data. By default, both follow the same rules for which blocks are valid. Some recent Knots versions also offer BIP-110, a rule change Core did not adopt, as an option. Nodes that turned it on split onto a separate chain on August 8, 2026. News reports say almost no miners followed it and it stopped after a few blocks; supporters dispute that it failed. Check which rules a version enforces before you install it.