The purpose of Bitcoin is to be decentralized, but it’s also one of its core challenges.
What:
A full node is essentially the complete Bitcoin blockchain running on a computer, ensuring that the laws of the Bitcoin protocol are followed and rejecting any fraudulent blocks. Running a full node requires a couple of things: storage and an internet connection. It takes a lot of data and a few days to download & sync the whole node in the first place (depending on internet speed & hardware being used) and as long as your computer is connected to the internet, you’ll be part of the Bitcoin network.
Why:
So why would you want to set up a full node? 🤔🤔
First of all: privacy. If you’re not using a full node, you have to connect to a remote server to make transactions. This means that you are trusting a third-party with your transaction information. If you value privacy when making Bitcoin payments, you want to be able to control your transactions and post them through your own trusted full node. You trust yourself, right? 😅 Privacy is one of the coolest things about Bitcoin in the first place.
But more importantly, by using a full node you are helping further decentralize the Bitcoin network. Your node will be validating incoming blocks and relaying valid ones to the rest of the network, thus securing and making the network faster. The more independent nodes, the more decentralized (stronger) the network becomes.
It’s not necessary to run a full node in order to make Bitcoin transactions, and sure you may have to leave your computer open all the time, but if you do a lot of transactions and you want to contribute to the overall Bitcoin ecosystem, it’s worth it 😉.