Running a Bitcoin node: is your own node worth €16 to €39 a year in electricity?

The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry a high degree of risk. Always conduct your own research.Your own Bitcoin node checks every payment itself and no longer tells an outside server which addresses belong to you. But our count of 18,816 reachable nodes also shows that one in four runs a Bitcoin Core version without security updates.Add as a preferred source on GoogleFollow on Google NewsRunning a Bitcoin node means keeping a full copy of the Bitcoin blockchain on your own hardware and checking every transaction yourself against the network's rules. For retail investors it pays off if they hold their coins themselves and no longer want to tell an outside server which addresses belong to them. Running costs are modest: at German electricity prices, an energy-efficient small computer uses roughly €16 to €39 a year. Storage is the bigger expense, because the blockchain now takes up well over 600 gigabytes. If you only hold bitcoin on an exchange, you do not need a node of your own. If you use a wallet with your own key, however, a node gives you independence: the wallet no l...