Bitcoin hardware that is node and mining pool at the same time

Futurebit, a company dedicated to the manufacture of hardware for Bitcoin mining and focused on decentralizing access to this network, announced the launch of its new device: only Node. This team, which combines the functions of a complete node and a mining pool in a single device, seeks to facilitate the participation of users in the network created by Satoshi Nakamoto, promoting autonomy and sovereignty.

As reported by the company through its X account, the Solo Node is already in presale stage, and its official launch is scheduled for “a few weeks.” The price of this device is $ 349.

A complete node for the Bitcoin Network

Futurebit’s Solobit Solo is designed to operate as a complete Bitcoin node, a fundamental piece for network operation and safety. A complete node is a program that Download and store a full copy of the networkthat is, the public and decentralized registry of all transactions made in that chain since its creation in 2009.

This type of node not only keeps the Bitcoin file, but also independently verify That each transaction and that each block complies with the Bitcoin consensus rules, such as the Bitcoins emission limit or the validity of the operations. In doing so, complete nodes contribute to decentralization of the network, since they allow users to validate the information without relying on third parties.

Futurebit emphasizes that the Solo Node has “the power to synchronize the entire network in less than 48 hours in the palm of your hand.” This is a significant achievement, considering the current Bitcoin size that, according to Ychart data, at the time of this article, exceeds 662 GB (Gigabytes), as seen in the following image:

Additionally, according to Futurebit’s announcement, Solo Node includes a “redundant dual node” system, which means that it has a support to continue working even if one of its parts failsensuring that the node remains online and operational to validate transactions.

A “domestic” mining pool

Solo Node also works as a mining pool thanks to its APOLLO OS 2 operating system, which includes a integrated Stratum server, a specific implementation of the Stratum protocol that is adapted for solo mining, instead of mining in pool.

A mining pool is a system that allows miners to combine their computing power contributed to the Bitcoin network from a single “platform”. The Stratum protocol, on the other hand, is a communication software that facilitates the connection between the miners and the pool, sending mining tasks and receiving the results.

With the Stratum server only integrated, the Solo Node Allows users to operate their own mining pool independentlywithout the need to connect to an external pool. This means that a user can connect the only one to a single Asic or several, whether own or other miners.

According to Futurebit, the Solo Node is designed to «be the Stratum server only Plug-And-Play more robust than anyone can implement in minutes. Works with a single bitaxe or with a Exahashsh farm with a thousand machines connected to a single connection point ». This makes it compatible with both Mini Asic and the Bitaxe, as well as industrial operations that do not exceed a Hashrate 1 EH/S (exahasho per second), a unit that measures the computing power in mining.

It is important to clarify that the only node does not mine by itself, since does not include an integrated mining chip. To perform this task, you need to be connected to an ASIC equipment, which is the specialized hardware used to undermine BTC.

In addition, Apollo OS 2 allows users to choose which node customer want to execute (Bitcoin Core or Knots, for example) and what rules of consensus prefer to apply on the network. This gives a level of control and transparency that reinforces user sovereigntyallowing him to decide, for example, not to accept certain rules imposed by large mining pools, such as transaction censorship, and support a more inclusive consensus.

However, only Node is not the first team that the Futurebit company builds with the possibility of being a complete node and a mining pool at the same time. Previously, the company launched the Apollo II Full Node, which operates in the same way, but with less efficient technical qualities, according to the official website.

Cryptonotics reported in the past how an entity used an Apollo II to create its own mining pool, allowing other miners to contribute hash rate, which led to that collaborative effort to process a block on the Bitcoin network, getting more than $ 330,000.

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FUTUREBIT Sole

The Solo Node is built with an 8 -core processor based on ARM technology (in Spanish, “Advanced RISC machines”), a type of chip known for its energy efficiency and its ability to handle complex tasks on small devices, such as mobile phones or compact computers. This processor would make the team perform operations such as Transaction validation and synchronization of the Bitcoin Network Without consuming too much energy.

In addition, the device includes between 8 and 16 gigabytes of RAM type LPDDR5X (in Spanish, “low energy consumption with double rate of 5th generation data”). This technology would allow the only node to handle several tasks at the same timehow to process network data and manage mining connections, consuming little energy.

To store the more than 662 Gigabytes of Bitcoin, the Solo Node uses a storage system based on SSD technology (solid state unit), which is much faster than traditional hard drives. This storage is connected by means Read and write data from the Bitcoin Network efficiently.

Finally, although the announcement does not detail the energy consumption of the Solo Node, it can be estimated that it would be around the 450 watts consumed by Apollo II, a device that points to the same tasks, although with different technical capabilities.