Light Node

Understanding Light Nodes

When it comes to blockchain technology, there are three types of nodes: miner nodes, full nodes, and light nodes.

A node is any device connected to the blockchain network, such as servers, computers, laptops, online or desktop wallets, and even mobile phones. All nodes are interconnected and constantly share the latest information added to the blockchain. They play a crucial role in the blockchain infrastructure by validating the ledger, ensuring transparent visibility of transactions and data on the network.

The main purpose of nodes is to ensure the validity, security, and accessibility of the data they hold for authorized parties.

Nodes are generally categorized as full nodes or light nodes. In this discussion, we will focus on light nodes.

Light nodes are downloaded wallets that connect to full nodes to verify the information stored on the blockchain. Unlike full nodes, light nodes are smaller in size and only store partial blockchain histories.

On the other hand, full nodes have a complete history of the blockchain, including all transactions, timestamps, and created blocks.

Light nodes serve a similar purpose to full nodes, but instead of holding the entire blockchain history, they store a block header. This block header provides a detailed summary of a specific block and includes information related to the previous block it is connected to. Light nodes use this block header to support and query the volatility of previous transactions.