Improving Bitcoin Nodes UI and UX – Bitcoin Magazine
This is an opinion editorial by Ram, a twenty-year-old student, soldier and storyteller.
Imagine this:
Your baby girl is fiddling with her laptop and she yells “Wow!” and “Oh!” You wonder what is going on. Is it a cartoon? Is it anime? Why is she so excited?
As I, a twenty year old, write this in Singapore, there are an estimated 15,000 active Bitcoin nodes running worldwide. These nodes store the Bitcoin database in part/in full.
With 15,000 computers storing the same database worldwide, repeatedly transferring new transactions and new blocks to each other, it is virtually impossible for a player to drop in and change the record of what happened.
But when talking about Bitcoin’s future as a decentralized currency, Elon Musk said this:
I agree with Elon. But let me clarify.
Elon referred to a validating node, which is fairly easy to set up.
- Mining nodes and validation nodes have different functions. (TLDR: mining nodes consume electricity to create “blocks” of data, validating nodes check whether the information in those blocks is accurate. Today, mining nodes are called miners, while validating nodes are simply called nodes.) Both contribute to decentralization.
- Setting up a validation node won’t burn your house down due to high power consumption.
- It’s actually easy and requires zero technical expertise.
- In fact, it only costs ~10 cents per day from electricity.
- Currently, you need less than 7 GB of storage space to set up a pruned validation node (where you only have part of the Bitcoin transaction database, but still contribute to decentralization).
Unfortunately, the average person is not aware of the above.
Nevertheless, Bitcoin remains the most decentralized cryptocurrency on the planet. 15,000 nodes in the context of a cryptocurrency is great, and proof of Bitcoin’s decentralization was demonstrated during the block size wars.
But let’s frame the context differently. Over 5,000,000,000 people have access to the internet today. Suddenly 15,000 nodes look tiny. A lot more than 15,000 people probably have computers with 7GB to spare. Many may even have an old laptop in their garage!
In order for Bitcoin to gain wider and faster use in the future, decentralization must be continuously emphasized. One way to do this is by encouraging ordinary people to run Bitcoin validating nodes.
We don’t talk about this enough today.
Achieve this via Node UI and UX improvements
Even in exchanges and payment apps, UI and UX are undoubtedly being sidelined. When it comes to nodes, the UI and UX discussion is practically non-existent.
Remember: the biggest company in the world today got where it is by relentlessly focusing on UI and UX. That company’s market capitalization is currently roughly six times that of Bitcoin’s.
Image from Apple, 1998; Retrieved from CNET
Bitcoin may not be a company, but the same principle applies. It boils down to making things more intuitive.
When it comes to setting up a validating node, make things easier. And easier. And easier. Installing Bitcoin Core should feel like installing a chrome extension. Or an app from Google Play. And suddenly we’ll make people realize, “Hey, this node thing is actually super easy!”
Let me clarify: setting up a validation node is already easy. But simplicity and perceived simplicity are different things. Today, perceived simplicity demands effortlessness.
Next, let’s talk about what it should feel like to run a validating node.
Take block explorer sites.
Image from blockchain.com
Technically, all this information can be found on any fully validating node. It’s just less intuitive and requires some technical knowledge. The average Joe will not acquire that knowledge.
So, improve the UI and UX. Add the interface to the block explorer sites on top of the node application. Take it a step further. Let users see how many nodes they’re transferring data to, how many blocks they’ve helped validate so far, any temporary chain splits. Simpler. More interactive. And yet effortlessly. I’m sure there will be many ideas to create a fun user interface and UX based on the blockchain.
And UI and UX are not only important for increased decentralization. They can change the very way people get into Bitcoin.
For the sake of illustration, here is what I imagine the typical path of someone getting into Bitcoin:
Hears about cryptocurrencies as a way to create fiat → gets into altcoins → gets into Bitcoin → interested in Bitcoin → goes down the rabbit hole → believes in Bitcoin → sets up a validating node.
This road is just one of many. But here’s my point: most of the time setting up a node is pretty much what happens late.
Here’s what an improved and intuitive node UI and UX can change that path to:
Hears about cryptocurrencies as a way to create fiat → decides to install a Bitcoin validating node to get a taste of crypto’s value proposition → learns through interacting with the blockchain → maybe even has fun → interested in Bitcoin → believes in Bitcoin → tells more people to install a validating node → spreads the word; process loops.
A validating node is an open invitation from Bitcoin to new people, requiring zero risk taking. UI and UX improvements will market it as such. They will spread learning via interaction with the Bitcoin network. Education will come straight from the blockchain. After all, videos and articles can only do so much!
Here are a few more UI and UX benefits:
- It attracts non-technical people to Bitcoin. Yes, Bitcoin is the most decentralized cryptocurrency on the planet. But the people running validating nodes are still a limited set drawn largely from tech and finance communities. Let’s bring people from other communities too. An immediate thought is that NFT designers move to work on Bitcoin’s UI and UX.
- They reduce the inherent risk of sites with centralized block explorers.
- This will publicize Bitcoin, the payment system. You can argue about the Bitcoin currency, but the Bitcoin payment system is incredibly difficult to refute, even through the lens of mainstream economics.
At this point, it is worth mentioning that increased decentralization can potentially lead to certain disadvantages as well. Typical problems of democracy. Decentralization among technocrats also has its advantages. But that is another discussion.
The point is: we need to talk more about this! Much of the world still deeply misunderstands Bitcoin. The fact that the “Bitcoin is bad for the climate” argument has gained so much traction is painful evidence. And even we Bitcoiners, all at very different depths of the rabbit hole, can benefit from easier interactions with the blockchain.
So talk about this in your Telegrams, Discords and of course on Twitter. Is it feasible? Does that make sense? Is it a waste of time? Is it actively being worked on?
Let’s go back to the story from the beginning of this piece:
Your baby girl is fiddling with her laptop and she yells “Wow!” and “Oh!” You walk away and see a new block being added to a chain of blocks in front of it, in real time. You see one chain split into two, until the chain on top gets longer and longer and the chain below disappears in flames. Your girl claps.
Now, folks, a vision is worth chasing.
This is a guest post by Ram. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
