All posts by Nownodes.io

As we already know, a node is an electronic device with an IP address that is connected to blockchain — that is, a computer, a laptop, or even a smartphone. Bound together, nodes form a decentralized network that works without a server, all information being stored on nodes directly. There are different types of nodes that vary by technical characteristics, the amount of time spent online, and visibility. In this article, we will be talking more about how nodes work and how to use them for cryptocurrency mining.

To understand the concept of mining, we need to remember how blockchain works. Basically, blockchain is a growing list of blocks — data records — all of which are connected, forming the said ‘chain’. Due to every block storing some data from the previous block and the following block, the whole chain is immune to external data modification, which makes the network very secure. To maintain this security, the transactions are expected to be ‘validated’ by the members of the chain — full nodes. Lite nodes don’t carry out validations, due to them being vulnerable to data modification themselves.

As a full node starts generating hashes looking for vulnerabilities in the network, once a vulnerability is found, the node is rewarded with coins. This process of obtaining cryptocurrency is called mining, and basically exists to stimulate blockchain users to contribute some of their computing resources to the network. Once bitcoin —  the first modern cryptocurrency — was launched, mining used to be easy, and almost every user could do it. Nowadays, bitcoin mining needs a lot of dedication, costly computers, and Internet bills. Why is that?

In fact, mining difficulty is the actual official term rather than a subjective assessment. Like we mentioned above, nodes, while mining, generate hashes in order to detect blockchain vulnerabilities. For every node, there is a set number of how many times per second a hash can be generated —  this is one of the fundamental node characteristics, hash rate. In other words, the hash rate of a node expresses its computing power. To mine successfully, you’re going to need high capacity devices, the hash rates of which being above 10 megahashes per second (MH/s).

What about the difficulty though? It is a parameter expressing how difficult it would be to be rewarded with a coin, which depends on the hash rate of the whole network and on the time spent on finding the previous blocks. The higher the hash rate, the more participants in the network, the shorter the amount of time spent on mining a new coin, the smaller the chance you’ll be rewarded — and, last but not least, the more electric power you spend. It is important to know the difficulty of mining to spot the most effective devices and to redistribute the resources you spend if needed.

The fact that mining popular cryptocurrency is becoming more difficult and demanding, can be illustrated by another fundamental characteristic of any blockchain — block height. Roughly speaking, a block height is an amount of all the blocks (which are effectively just bunches of transactions) that have been created since the launch of the coin. For example, every ten minutes a new block is generated by the Bitcoin protocol. The generation rate is even higher in the Ethereum protocol: once in every fifteen seconds. Even though the block height is a worse security indicator than the hash rate, it is an important parameter, for it demonstrates how quickly popular cryptocurrencies are being spread. 

In conclusion, we would like to mention that despite the fact that running a full node is serious business nowadays, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get into cryptocurrency at all. NOWNodes provides access to full nodes of the most popular cryptos, making your blockchain experience easy and fun.

So, you figured you would like to try getting into blockchain and see for yourself whether it works for you. Now what? If you aren’t dedicated enough to set up your own full node, might be a good idea to use the NOWNodes service to connect to full nodes of some of the most widespread cryptocurrencies. This is a simple and secure way to get into blockchain – but how exactly is it secure?

NOWNodes offers RPC (Remote Procedure Call) connection via which you access the blockchain. This way, you can carry out administrative tasks, control your wallet and obtain the data you need – all via remote procedure calls, or commands you use in the client the cryptocurrency creators provide (almost all of them are BTC-like). For instance, you can use such RPCs, or methods, as GetBlockHash (returns hash of block in best-block-chain at height provided), GenerateToAddress (mine blocks immediately to a specified address (before the RPC call returns)), Ping (requests that a ping be sent to all other nodes, to measure ping time), and many others.

However, not all of the usable remote procedure calls are safe for you and/or other users. Carrying out the “stop” method might lead to undesirable consequences. This is why it is crucial to filter user requests to the node. NOWNodes cares about the customers’ experience and well-being and makes sure to protect their privacy and their funds from any unauthorized third-party intrusions. Every user request is verified by the proxy server first, and if it isn’t suspicious, it gets redirected to the node after that. Moreover, the nodes have a built-in P2P protocol filter, which also helps ensure user safety.

You can find all the necessary documentation on nownodes.io in the respective section. We’ll be adding more information soon, including the methods list and request examples, so stay tuned on Twitter!

While getting introduced to Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, or blockchain, in general, might seem a bit difficult and even intimidating at first, a lot of services have been developed over the years, aiming at making the process easier for the new users. NOWNodes by ChangeNOW is one of them: it has been made specifically with this purpose. What exactly does it do? Here is some theory at first.

What is a node in terms of blockchain? Blockchain process can be roughly explained as transferring encrypted data between electronic devices (this process, in turn, is known as transactions) that have an IP address and Internet connection. Basically, each of these devices is a node, the most essential component of the whole process: the nodes support it by having access to a copy of the blockchain. Its structure can be described as a network, namely a P2P (peer to peer) network — it is decentralized, which means that all participants, or nodes, have equal rights.

However, the decentralization doesn’t mean all blockchain nodes are exactly the same. They can be divided into two main categories: full and lightweight nodes. A full node is a device that has 24/7 access to blockchain and stores a complete copy of the whole transaction history. A certain amount of full nodes is crucial for a blockchain network to exist. Lightweight, or light nodes, on the other hand, download only block headers rather than the whole blockchain and are not that important for the blockchain networks to function.

While being significantly easier for the user to run and maintain, light nodes have a number of serious downsides: for example, a user risks to be paid with invalid or fake bitcoins, since light nodes don’t validate cryptocurrency (e.g. bitcoin) rules. User’s transactions can be spied on by a third party. Generally, they are just more vulnerable than full node users. Running the latter guarantees the user won’t face any of these situations. However, not every beginner could be bothered to go all out and run a full node since their first day in the blockchain: it requires time and costs money. And the most important thing is, there is a solution to this problem.

NOWNodes is an innovative service from the creators of ChangeNOW that allows you to connect to the blockchain via a public full node without having to pay a fee. You can choose from a wide range of the most popular cryptocurrencies. The service offers unlimited access to German-located full nodes of these cryptos and claims to provide secure and reliable connection via RPC protocol. NOWNodes has recently announced the launch of supporting the Groestlcoin and Verge full nodes.

The creators of NOWNodes suggest that their service will be of use for young entrepreneurs, students and blockchain beginners, who often have limited resources. Without having to spend anything on running their own full node, they can put their time and money into “making their project the best it can be”. Among NOWNodes’ claimed key features, there are also powerful servers that work non-stop, a high connection speed (1GB per second), and the possibility to start working with the service immediately. 

The full list of cryptocurrencies supported by NOWNodes includes Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), DigiByte (DGB), Dogecoin (DOGE), Verge (XVG), Groestlcoin (GRS), ZCoin (ZXC), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Dash (DASH). The service’s accounts can be found on most popular social media and blogging platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Discord, Medium), the SMM management being active and helpful, always ready for feedback. While the platform hasn’t gotten much development yet, it is important to remember it is relatively new — moreover, it has already gained a few positive reviews in the blockchain enthusiast community.

Getting started with NOWNodes is easy: just connect to the full node of your choice and start working. The service claims to offer security and reliability and sounds like a good way to try and find out if you like working with blockchain without having to put much effort into setting up your own cryptocurrency full node.

NOWNodes, an innovative platform that gives its customers unlimited access to major currencies’ full nodes, has an exciting announcement! Today we have started to support the Verge public node. 

Verge is an open-source privacy coin. Verge’s mission is to empower people around the world by bringing blockchain transactions into everyday life. NOWNodes is happy to take a part in such a mission by supporting the Verge’s full node so people in the community can use it!

NOWNodes is a project powered by ChangeNOW, non-custodial crypto swaps service. As of right now, NOWNodes supports nodes for four major currencies: BTC, ETH, GRS, and, obviously, XVG!

Our goal is to support much more and we are planning to add several nodes per week.

As for the details on Verge’s node: the servers are located in Germany and the node will be available 24/7: non-stop, fast, and reliable. The connection speed is mind-blowing 1 GB/sec.

Stay tuned to get updates: on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Discord.

NOWNodes, an innovative platform that gives its customers unlimited access to major currencies’ full nodes, has an exciting announcement! Today we have started to support the Groestlcoin full public node. 

Groestlcoin is a fast and reliable cryptocurrency with almost zero fees. The network is focused on privacy. NOWNodes is happy to take a part in such a mission by supporting Groestlcoin’s full node so people in the community can use it!

NOWNodes is a project powered by ChangeNOW, non-custodial crypto swaps service. As of right now, NOWNodes supports nodes for four major currencies: BTC, ETH, XVG, and, obviously, GRS! Our goal is to support much more and we are planning to add several nodes per week.

As for the details on Groestlcoin’s node: the servers are located in Germany and the node will be available 24/7: non-stop, fast, and reliable. The connection speed is mind-blowing 1 GB/sec. The best part is that the connection is completely fee-free!

Stay tuned to get updates: on Twitter, Reddit, and Discord.