The Essence of Decentralized Systems and the Role of Nodes

Decentralization is an open, flat, and equal system structure. In this system, numerous Nodes have a high degree of autonomy and can freely connect to form new units. Any Node may become a temporary center, but lacks the power of coercive control. The influence between Nodes forms a nonlinear causal relationship through the network.

Decentralization does not completely eliminate the center, but rather allows nodes to freely choose and determine the center. Unlike centralized systems where the center decides the nodes, in decentralized systems, everyone can be both a node and potentially become the center. This center is temporary and has no coercive power over the nodes.

In the Bitcoin network, full nodes are a core component. They have a complete blockchain ledger, can independently verify all transactions, and update data in real-time. Full nodes are mainly responsible for broadcasting and validating transactions. Ordinary users only need a regular computer and Bitcoin client software to become a full node, personally participating in transaction verification and ledger viewing. Currently, the complete Bitcoin network data is about 200GB. To lower the threshold, the new version of the client also provides a pruning node function, which can complete transaction confirmations without saving all data.

The full nodes of Ethereum are referred to as "archive nodes". Compared to Bitcoin, which focuses on storing ledgers and value transfer, the Ethereum system is more complex. It adds the EVM virtual machine, which has computational and programming capabilities, and stores a large amount of "state" data in addition to transactions. This results in a higher storage pressure for Ethereum, with the total network data volume being about 10 times that of Bitcoin, approaching 2TB.

The core of a decentralized system lies in its distributed characteristics and the autonomy of nodes. Through this structure, it achieves higher security, transparency, and resistance to censorship, laying the foundation for the widespread application of blockchain technology.