Zion

Setting up a bitcoin full node on HTC EXODUS

A full node lets you validate your own transactions and help maintain the bitcoin network.

Important: Running a bitcoin full node requires a microSD card formatted as portable storage with at least 280 GB of free space.

To set up your full node, do the following:

From the home screen in Zion, tap Full Node.
The first time you run Full Node, you'll see a pop-up prompting you to tap Set up now.
Tap Tap to set up and grant the necessary permissions.
Zion will check to see if your microSD card has enough free space. If you have enough space, tap Next.
Choose whether to sync over Wi-Fi only or any network.
Note: Your first sync will use a large amount of data and may take a long time to finish. Using mobile data may incur additional charges. Using Wi‍-Fi is recommended.

You can use your full node as soon as it finishes syncing. You can pause and resume later if necessary.

Things to know about full node

Here are some things to keep in mind when using your full node.

Data usage

Syncing a full node for the first time requires downloading the entire history of the bitcoin blockchain. Once the node is synced, it may upload and download dozens of gigabytes each month. Due to this high data usage, it is strongly recommended you run your node over Wi‍-Fi only, or make sure you have an unlimited, unthrottled mobile data connection.

Storage requirements

Running a full node requires more than 280 GB of storage space on a large microSD card. The card will also need to accommodate future growth of the blockchain, which can be as high as 4 GB per month.

Power requirements

Full nodes do not require much processing power, but they send and receive lots of data which may drain your battery more quickly. You can pause your node when running on battery to help extend your battery life.

About bitcoin full nodes

A full node is responsible for validating transactions as part of the bitcoin network, as well as for relaying requests. It stores the full bitcoin blockchain, validates the details of hashes and transactions, and shares this information with the rest of the network.

Why would I want a full node?

There are several reasons you might want to run a full node.

Contribute to the security of the bitcoin network

Part of the security of bitcoin comes from the distributed ledger: shared copies of bitcoin transaction history make it much harder for any one user to change transaction histories and balances. Having many independent nodes constantly validating the entire history of the blockchain makes it very difficult to hijack.

Help maintain the independence of bitcoin

Independently operated nodes help offset the influence large entities—like mining pools or financial institutions—which could make changes to the bitcoin infrastructure without user input. Maintaining your own node gives you a voice and a way to contribute to the future of the bitcoin network.

Validate your own transactions

You can validate your own bitcoin transactions without relying exclusively on third parties or servers.