Have you read about Bitcoin and noticed how they discuss the importance of Bitcoin miners and nodes in the same sentences? Is a node and a miner the same thing? If no, what are the differences? What are the functions of a Bitcoin node and what are the functions of a Bitcoin miner?
As Satoshi created Bitcoin, he referred to the blockchain as we know it today, as a timechain. In other words, it is a chain showing the events that has happened, in a correct order, and making it impossible to change the passed. Once something is added to the timechain/blockchain, it is there to stay.
Now, approximately every ten minutes, a new Bitcoin block is mined. What happens then? A hard mathematical equation is delivered with the former block, and now miners worldwide try to solve this task by selecting random answers. The first to solve the equation gets the honor of hammering the new data to the timechain/blockchain, and with this, comes a new equation and the process happens over and over again. This is entirely decentralized, and people can run such miners worldwide. The only requirement is that you have the right hardware, and a deep pocket to pay for the hardware and the electricity required to run such a miner.
To sum it up, miners add blocks to the blockchain/timechain in a decentralized way. What has been added is there to stay. Even though the entire United States would lose electricity, the Bitcoin blockchain would work properly cause lots of miners would keep operations running with their miners elsewhere in the world.
A Bitcoin node doesn’t need that sort of power, because it is like a program keeping track of the Bitcoin ledger… all transactions that has taken place on the blockchain since its inception. With this information, you can track the different movements of all ever produced BTC. The nodes also know the rules of the Bitcoin network. If transactions should happen that don’t follow the rules, the nodes will ensure that such transactions cannot happen, and that they cannot be added to the blockchain. A node, thus, helps the security of Bitcoin by keeping track of the records, and by adding the information to the b.
If you decide to send Bitcoin to another address, you send the request and a few nodes are the first to receive the request. If they see that your request is valid, then they pass it on to further nodes, and as the system of nodes authorize and confirm your transaction as correct, it is put on hold until it is included in the next block mined by one of many Bitcoin miners.
Now the new block is passed on to all the nodes, which then again keeps track of every single movement on the Bitcoin network.
The more active nodes, the higher the security of the network!
I hope this article has helped you understand better the differences between Bitcoin miners and Bitcoin nodes!
