Full node
Also · Node · Bitcoin node
A full node downloads and verifies the whole Bitcoin blockchain against the consensus rules, then relays valid blocks and transactions without trusting anyone.
A full node is software that joins the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network, downloads every block since the first one and checks each transaction against the consensus rules. It rejects anything invalid, whoever sent it, and relays what passes.
Running one turns a user into a verifier rather than a client. A wallet connected to your own node does not have to ask a third party what your balance is, and does not leak your addresses to a public server. A node does not mine and does not need to hold keys. A pruned node still verifies everything but deletes old block files once processed.
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