Author: Jonas Schnelli 2018-08-29 18:27:51
Published on: 2018-08-29T18:27:51+00:00
The centralization in Bitcoin is not caused by API implementation or full indexation, but rather the deployment cost of nodes that run the API from a third party. The ability to self-validate in Bitcoin is supported by an API that provides non-verifiable data available through the p2p network. However, without centralized services, block explorers and light wallets would not exist. To avoid centralization, it is important to encourage decentralized services for these features. Bitcoin-Core has the necessary features to partially index data and provide them through RPC API, which can be used in pruned mode with a proper light client architecture. While a full-index block explorer-like API is useful, it is important to define the use case and understand the consequences and downsides.
Updated on: 2023-06-13T14:15:39.974280+00:00