The Bitcoin network can always use more nodes, as they help decentralize the network as a whole. While a lot of people are deploying these nodes on cloud services, incentives are underway to increase the number of nodes at home. SuchFlex, a US-based company, announced their desktop application a few months ago. In the latest update, users can decide which of four different Bitcoin nodes they want to run.
A Quick And Easy Solution To Become A Bitcoin Node
One thing people need to keep in mind is how running a Bitcoin node does not result in receiving financial rewards. Every user does this at their own accord, with no incentive other than to help grow the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Moreover, operating a Bitcoin network node is subject to some very high bandwidth consumption, which needs to be taken into consideration as well.
SuchFlex wants to make the choice of which type of network node to run a bit easier. With an easy-to-use GUI for their desktop app, users have to click a few buttons, and they are all ready to go. However, there is one significant difference between this using this app and setting up a Bitcoin node oneself: there will be incentives in the future.
For now, it remains unclear how SuchFlex plans to achieve this goal. The Bitcoin protocol does not include an incentive model by default, so it is likely the developers have to come up with a proprietary system. It is anybody’s guess as to how this solution would work, or what type of rewards users can expect in the future.
Regardless of any potential incentives, further decentralizing the Bitcoin network is always a positive trend. The vast majority of nodes are located in the US, Germany, and other European countries. Latin and South America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa are not represented in any noteworthy manner right now. That situation will need to be addressed sooner rather than later.
But that is not the only aspect that can make SuchFlex an attractive application for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Their app has built-in mining support for different currencies, including Storj. In a way, it seems to combine all different popular cryptocurrency ecosystem into one user-friendly solution. While that is a form of centralization as well, efforts like these can help the Bitcoin network grow over time.
Users of the SuchFlex app need to take one thing into consideration. A third-party application is always a security risk, both for mining as well as running a network node. It remains uncertain if this company can be trusted, and it is always advised to do your own research. It will be interesting to see how their incentive system will work, though.
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