Why run an XBT node? It pays nothing. Here’s what you get
Running an XBT node pays nothing, same as a Bitcoin node. There's no reward for keeping one online. About 970 people run one anyway, up from 955 last week. Here's what you get for it, and what it costs.
What you get
- You verify everything yourself. Your node checks every block and transaction against the rules. You don't have to trust an explorer, an exchange or us about your balance.
- You enforce the rules. Soft forks like XBT's coinbase lock only hold because nodes refuse blocks that break them. Right now about 831 reachable nodes, 86%, enforce the lock. Your node counts toward that.
- Private wallet use. Point Shrike or another wallet at your own node and no outside server learns your addresses. How the Electrum setup works.
- Your own blocks, if you mine. Pools that use DATUM let miners build block templates on their own node. Choosing a pool.
- A stronger network. More nodes in more places make XBT harder to censor or mislead.
What it costs
- Disk: XBT shares Bitcoin's full history, so a full node needs about the same space as a Bitcoin node, hundreds of gigabytes. Pruned mode cuts that to a few gigabytes if you don't need the full history.
- Hardware: a small always-on computer or a spare laptop is enough. An SSD makes the first sync much faster.
- Bandwidth and power: modest, and much less than a miner.
Which software
About 83% of reachable XBT nodes run Bitcoin Knots with BLAKE2b support (version 20260508). Release links are on our tools page. The live version breakdown is on the homepage.
"Why does it still say BTC?"
A common question. The XBT node software is a fork of Bitcoin's, and parts of the interface still label amounts "BTC." On a node synced to the XBT chain, those amounts are XBT. It's cosmetic.
One real caution: if you load a wallet with coins from before Aug 8, 2026, use replay-protected signing before you spend. Replay protection, explained.
Node counts from the B2B Node Census crawler via xbt.live, Oct 13, 2026. Reachable nodes are a floor; the real network is larger.
Have an XBT story? Write for xbt.live.