The Significance and Misunderstandings of Bitcoin Full Nodes

This episode of the podcast features two Bitcoin researchers discussing some common misconceptions surrounding Bitcoin Full Nodes and the importance of running a Full Node.

First, Jeffrey pointed out a common misunderstanding that Bitcoin transaction fees are incorrectly referred to as "Gas fees". He emphasized that Bitcoin's fees are calculated based on the size of the transaction, rather than being based on computational workload like Ethereum.

Ajian added that the recent significant growth of UTXO sets caused by new applications such as BRC20 is a more concerning issue. The expansion of UTXO sets will increase the hardware costs for nodes and affect the long-term healthy development of the network.

Regarding the role of Full Nodes, both guests agreed that although running a Full Node may not have direct economic benefits, it is crucial for maintaining network decentralization, censorship resistance, and personal privacy. Full Nodes are not just passive data storage; they are nodes that can fully verify transactions.

A Jian uses the SegWit upgrade as an example to illustrate that Full Node operators can play an active role in network upgrades, rather than just passively accepting them. He emphasizes that the design philosophy of Bitcoin is to limit any form of power concentration to protect individual freedom.

Jeffrey added that the definition of a Full Node is "a node that can fully verify", not just store all ledger data. Running a Full Node can avoid the privacy and censorship risks faced by light nodes.

Finally, A Jian pointed out that the core idea of Bitcoin is to limit power to protect individual freedom, which distinguishes it from other cryptocurrency projects that may worship power. Understanding this is important for truly appreciating the value of Bitcoin.