How Improving The UI And UX Of Bitcoin Nodes Could Benefit Everyone

2 years ago

It’s precocious clip to determination the treatment connected Bitcoin idiosyncratic interfaces and acquisition implicit to nodes.

This is an sentiment editorial by Ram, a 20 twelvemonth aged student, worker and storyteller.

Imagine this:

Your babe miss is fiddling with her laptop, and she’s yelling, “Wow!” and “Oh!” You wonderment what’s going on. Is it a cartoon? Is it anime? Why’s she truthful excited?

As I, a 20 twelvemonth old, constitute this successful Singapore, about 15,000 progressive Bitcoin nodes are estimated to beryllium moving each implicit the world. These nodes store the Bitcoin database successful part/in its entirety.

With 15,000 computers storing the aforesaid database each implicit the world, repeatedly transmitting caller transactions and caller blocks to 1 another, it’s practically intolerable for immoderate 1 subordinate to popular by and alteration the grounds of what happened.

But erstwhile talking astir Bitcoin’s aboriginal arsenic a decentralized currency, Elon Musk said this:

“The world is, the mean idiosyncratic is not going to tally a bitcoin node.” — Elon Musk, B World Conference 2021

I hold with Elon. But fto maine clarify.

Elon was referring to a validating node, which is rather elemental to acceptable up.

Mining nodes and validation nodes service different functions. (TLDR: mining nodes devour energy to make “blocks” of data, validating nodes cheque whether the info successful those blocks is accurate. Nowadays, mining nodes are called miners, whereas validating nodes are simply called nodes.) Both lend to decentralization.
Setting up a validation node volition not pain your location down owed to precocious energy usage.
It’s really casual and requires zero method expertise.
In fact, it costs conscionable ~10 cents per time from electricity.
At the moment, you request little than 7GB of retention abstraction to acceptable up a pruned validation node (in which you clasp lone portion of the Bitcoin transaction database, but inactive lend to decentralization).

Unfortunately, the mean idiosyncratic is not alert of the above.

Nevertheless, Bitcoin remains the astir decentralized cryptocurrency connected the planet. 15,000 nodes successful the discourse of a cryptocurrency is great, and impervious of Bitcoin’s decentralization was demonstrated during the blocksize wars.

But let’s framework the discourse differently. Over 5,000,000,000 radical person entree to the net today. Suddenly, 15,000 nodes look tiny. A batch much than 15,000 folks astir apt person computers with 7GB to spare. Many whitethorn adjacent person an aged laptop sitting successful the garage!

For Bitcoin to summation wider and faster adoption moving forward, its decentralization indispensable beryllium continually emphasized. One mode to bash this is by encouraging regular folks to tally Bitcoin validating nodes.

We aren’t talking capable astir this today.

Achieving This Via Node UI And UX Improvements

Even successful exchanges and outgo apps, UI and UX are arguably being sidelined. When it comes to nodes, the UI and UX treatment is practically non-existent.

Remember: the biggest institution successful the satellite contiguous got to wherever it is by relentlessly focusing connected UI and UX. That company’s marketplace headdress is presently astir six times bigger than Bitcoin’s.

Bitcoin mightiness not beryllium a company, but the aforesaid rule applies. It boils down to making things much intuitive.

When it comes to mounting up a validating node, marque things simpler. And simpler. And simpler. Installing Bitcoin Core should consciousness similar installing a chrome extension. Or an app from Google Play. And suddenly, we’ll person radical realizing: “Hey, this node thingy is really ace simple!”

Let maine clarify: mounting up a validating node is already simple. But simplicity and perceived simplicity are antithetic things. Today, perceived simplicity requires effortlessness.

Next, let’s speech astir however moving a validating node should feel.

Take artifact explorer websites.

Technically, immoderate of this info tin beryllium recovered connected immoderate afloat validating node. It’s conscionable little intuitive and requires immoderate method knowledge. The mean Joe won’t get that knowledge.

So, amended the UI and UX. Superimpose the artifact explorer websites’ interface connected apical of the node program. Take it a measurement further. Let users spot however galore nodes they’re transmitting information to, however galore blocks they’ve helped validate frankincense far, immoderate impermanent concatenation splits. Simpler. More interactive. And yet effortless. I’m definite there’ll beryllium plentifulness of ideas connected creating a amusive UI and UX based connected the blockchain.

And UI and UX aren’t conscionable important for accrued decentralization. They tin alteration the precise mode successful which radical get into Bitcoin.

For illustration’s sake, here’s what I ideate the emblematic pathway of idiosyncratic who gets into Bitcoin:

Hears astir cryptocurrencies arsenic a mode to marque fiat → gets into altcoins → gets into Bitcoin → funny successful Bitcoin → goes down the rabbit spread → believes successful Bitcoin → sets up a validating node.

This pathway is conscionable 1 of many. But here’s my point: astir of the time, mounting up a node happens rather late.

Here’s what an improved and intuitive node UI and UX could alteration that pathway into:

Hears astir cryptocurrencies arsenic a mode to marque fiat → decides to instal a Bitcoin validating node to get a sensation of crypto’s worth proposition → learns via interacting with the blockchain → possibly adjacent has amusive → funny successful Bitcoin → believes successful Bitcoin → tells much folks to instal a validating node → spreads word; process loops.

A validating node is an unfastened invitation from Bitcoin to caller folks, that necessitates zero risk-taking. UI and UX improvements volition marketplace it arsenic such. They’ll propagate learning via interacting with the Bitcoin network. Education volition travel consecutive from the blockchain. Videos and articles, aft all, tin lone bash truthful much!

Here are a mates much UI and UX benefits:

It attracts non-technical folks to Bitcoin. Yes, Bitcoin is the astir decentralized cryptocurrency connected the planet. But the folks moving validating nodes are inactive a constricted acceptable mostly drawn from tech and concern communities. Let’s bring implicit folks from different communities, too. An contiguous thought is NFT designers transitioning to moving connected Bitcoin’s UI and UX.
They trim the inherent risks from centralized artifact explorer websites.
This would publicize Bitcoin, the payments system. You tin reason implicit Bitcoin the currency, but Bitcoin the payments strategy is incredibly hard to refute, adjacent done the lens of mainstream economics.

At this juncture, it’s worthy mentioning that accrued decentralization could perchance bring astir definite disadvantages, too. Typical ideology problems. Decentralization among technocrats has its pros, too. But that’s different discussion.

The bottommost enactment is: we request to beryllium talking much astir this! Much of the satellite inactive profoundly misunderstands Bitcoin. The information that the “Bitcoin is atrocious for the climate” statement has gotten truthful overmuch traction is achy evidence. And adjacent we Bitcoiners, each astatine precise antithetic depths of the rabbit hole, tin payment from easier interactions with the blockchain.

So speech astir this successful your Telegrams, Discords and of course, connected Twitter. Is it feasible? Does it marque sense? Is it a discarded of time? Is it being actively worked on?

Let’s instrumentality to the communicative from the commencement of this piece:

Your babe miss is fiddling with her laptop, and she yells “Wow!” and “Oh!” You locomotion implicit and spot a caller artifact being added to a concatenation of blocks preceding it, successful real-time. You spot 1 concatenation becoming two, until the concatenation connected apical becomes longer and longer and the concatenation beneath vanishes into flames. Your miss claps.

Now that, folks, is simply a imaginativeness worthy chasing.

This is simply a impermanent station by Ram. Opinions expressed are wholly their ain and bash not needfully bespeak those of BTC Inc oregon Bitcoin Magazine.

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