What are Nodes?

in #blockchain6 years ago

Hey guys

Today I continue my study of crypto terminologies and sharing what I learnt with you all. Today i am going to talk about ‘nodes’. At first I was going to write a post about forks but then I thought that people first need to understand what a node is.

A node can be any device be it a computer, laptop or cellphone that has an access to the internet. The job of a node is to contain a copy of the blockchain of cryptocurrencies. For those who want to know more about blockchains here is a link to my previous post in which I tell what is a blockchain in simple terms https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@vishalkk316/what-is-a-blockchain

Nodes verify the transactions that take place after the mining is done and add new blocks to the blockchain.

There are 2 types of nodes

  1. Full Nodes
  2. Light Nodes

Full nodes are the nodes which contain a complete copy of the blockchain of the respective cryptocurrency. They contain the records from the very first transaction the occurred in its crypto
Light nodes are the nodes which contain a partial record of the blockchain. It can have records of a year, a month or the previous day. Light nodes are connected to full nodes to keep them updated .

The existence of thousands of nodes helps the cryptocurrencies as there is no centralised record so it cannot be hacked. Hence the more there are the better. Unlike miners the node owners aren’t paid anything.

So that’s it for today guys I hope you liked today’s post. See you in the next one.