• Bitaxe miners

This is the hardware I use in this tutorial.

• Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, with 8GB of RAM

• 2TB external SSD with USB connectivity

• 32GB micro SD card

• micro SD adapter

• RJ 45 cable

You'll find that on Amazon or anywhere else.

Eventually you can also buy a protective case for the pi.

Make sure you got everything from the Hardware list. Then assemble it as follow:

1. Insert the microSD card into the Raspberry Pi.

2. Connect the SSD to the Raspberry Pi via a USB 3.0 port.

3. Use an RJ45 cable to connect the Raspberry Pi to your modem/router.

4. Plug in the Raspberry Pi’s power supply.

Go to the Umbrel app store and download the Bitoin Node application. This app is pretty much a wrapper of Bitcoin Core with a very nice GUI (sources here).

Launch it and go through the setup by simply leaving all settings at default. Your node will now connect to remote peers to download and verify the entire blockchain.

An Electrum server is an indexing layer built on top of Bitcoin Core. It enables more efficient blockchain queries and easier wallet connections. Most wallets support Electrum connections.

Download Electrs on the Umbrel app store. It's a Rust implementation of Electrum server (sources). Then launch it, leave all settings at default and let it synchronize with the blockchain.

In this tutorial we setup our own Bitcoin node from scratch! What is covered:

• Buy, assemble and flash a Raspberry Pi

• Download, compile and install the original Bitcoin Core software

• Download, compile and install a modern Electrum server in Rust

• Connect your wallets to your node through the Tor protocol

Credits

This tutorial would have not been possible without TheRoadToNode and Harry Bawsac.

This is the hardware I use in this tutorial:

• Raspberry Pi 5 or Raspberry Pi 4 with 8GB of RAM

• 2TB portable SSD

You'll find that on Amazon or anywhere else.

Plug the portable SSD into a USB 3.0 port on the Pi, then connect the Pi to power. Wait approximately 10 minutes for the installation process and the first boot to complete.

You can now connect to your Pi via SSH using the private key you created previously:

ssh -i your_private_key [email protected]

or

ssh -i your_private_key username@IP

To connect your wallet to your node, simply add your Electrum server's address and port in the wallet's network settings.

You will find your Electrum server's address here:

sudo cat /var/lib/tor/electrs_hidden_service/hostname

The port is 50001 unless you specified otherwise.

BTC RPC Explorer is essentially a web GUI for the Bitcoin JSON-RPC API. It is highly useful for node monitoring, management, and as a blockchain explorer.

Install BTC RPC Explorer

Get the latest stable release

Clone the repo:

Show the latest version tags:

Switch to the latest stable version:

Install

Update local dependencies within version ranges specified in package.json:

Install:

Then try installing again:

Configure

Create the config file:

Add the following:

• BTCEXP_HOST: Replace with your Pi's local IP to make BTC RPC Explorer accessible on your LAN.

• BTCEXP_BITCOIND_COOKIE: Update the path with your own user.

• BTCEXP_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD: Set a strong password to secure access.

Configure systemd service

Create the service file:

Add the following:

Line 6,8 and 9 make sure to replace your_user by your own user.

Finally, reload systemd:

Startup

Configure BTC-RPC Explorer to automatically start at boot:

Start BTC-RPC Explorer:

You'll see a popup asking you to enter a username and password. The username doesn't matter; just use the password you set up in the .env file.

Issue with Node Details page

The page /node-details of BTC RPC Explorer throws an error. I suck at coding but I was able to fix it with ChatGPT.

Edit the below file:

At line 29, replace this block of code:

By this one:

(Basically I removed getblockchaininfo.warnings.trim().length > 0 in both if statements).

Make sure to restart BTC RPC Explorer and the page should be working:

Tor

I personally wouldn't risk exposing this app to the outside world. It has some bugs, is vulnerable to brute-force attacks, and stores the password in a plain text .env file.

If I ever do, I will ensure that the features enabling manual Bitcoin JSON-RPC API calls are disabled.

• Update the OS

• Update Bitcoin Core

• Update Rust

• Update Electrs

• Update Node.js

• Update BTC RPC Explorer

Do this frequently:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Verify what your current version is:

bitcoind --version

Fetch the latest changes:

cd ~/bitcoin

Show the latest version tags:

Switch to the latest stable version:

Clear files and outputs from the previous build process:

Now create the configuration files:

Use one of the following two commands to apply the configuration files:

Compile the source code:

Once the compilation is done, we stop Electrs and bitcoind:

Now we can update the binaries system-wide:

Finally we can restart bitcoind and Electrs:

You can check your new version with:

If Rust and Cargo binaries aren't in your path, run:

. "$HOME/.cargo/env"

Update Rust and Cargo:

rustup update

Update rustup:

rustup self update

Check the new versions:

rustc --version

Now, update all packages installed with Cargo by running:

If you encounter an error because cargo-update is not installed, install it using:

Fetch the latest changes:

cd ~/electrs

git fetch --all

Show the latest version tags:

Switch to the latest stable version:

Stop Electrs:

Source the env file and compile

Start electrs:

Verify the new version:

Update Node.js to the latest version:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y nodejs

Update npm to the latest version globally:

sudo npm install -g npm@latest

Update all globally installed npm packages:

sudo npm update -g

Fetch the latest changes:

cd ~/btc-rpc-explorer

git fetch --all

Show the latest version tags:

Switch to the latest stable version:

Stop BTC RPC Explorer:

Update the dependencies:

Install the updates:

Once it's done, you can start BTC RPC Explorer again:

We will cover two methods of setting up your own Lightning node:

• The easy way with Umbrel OS

• The advanced way from sources

Installation

Go to the Umbrel app store and install the Lightning node application. This app is a GUI for the Lightning Network Daemon (LND), the most common Bitcoin Lightning implementation. Launch the application and leave all settings at default.

Node's wallet

You will get prompted to link a wallet to the node. You can use an existing wallet or create a new one.

The Lightning Node needs a Bitcoin wallet to manage funds and open channels.

We must fund our node to enable sending and receiving payments on the Lightning Network.

Open the Lightning Node application. Under the Bitcoin Wallet section, click Deposit. You can now send some bitcoin to the address displayed.

To be able to send payments we must open channels on other nodes and lock BTC.

This is called outbound liquidity, where locked funds are on our side of the channel.

Open the Lightning Node application. Scroll down and click on + OPEN CHANNEL.

1. Find a well-connect node here

2. Copy the Node ID (format pubkey@ip:port)

   1. Example, Kraken’s Node ID ⇒ 02f1a8c87607f415c8f22c00593002775941dea48869ce23096af27b0cfdcc0b69@52.13.118.208:9735

3. Select the amount of BTC to be locked in the channel

   1. In our example, Kraken has a 0.01 BTC minimum requirement (read more)

4. Adjust the transaction fee (the higher the fee, the faster the channel opens)

   1. It can take anywhere from ~30 minutes to 24 hours.

For us to receive payments, other nodes must open channels to our node & lock BTC.

This is inbound liquidity, where locked funds are on the other side of the channel.

Unless you know other node operators who are willing to open a channel to your node, we’ll use a service called LNBig. With LNBig, you can have inbound channels opened to your node in exchange for a small fee.

To purchase am inbound channel, go to this page and follow the steps below:

1. Select how much BTC you want LNBig to lock into the channel

   1. The larger the channel, the higher the opening fee LNBig charges

2. Make a pre-payment via lightning

3. Enter your Lightning Node ID, which is exposed via Tor. To find it:

   1. In Umbrel open the Lightning Node application

   2. Click the three dots on the top right side

   3. Click on Node ID

   4. Select Network > Tor and copy the the Node ID

4. LNBig will now attempt to connect to your node; this may take some time

5. LNBig may ask you to open a channel to their node first before they open one on yours. This is usually required only the first time.

6. As soon as you’re done, you’ll see the incoming channel from LNBig opening.

On your phone, install the following apps:

• BlueWallet: An open source mobile wallet that connects to your Lightning node

• Orbot: Used to connect to Tor (for BlueWallet to reach your node)

On the Umbrel App Store, download the BlueWallet Lightning application. Open the application and at the top right, notice the LNDHub QR code.

Now back to your phone:

1. Start Orbot, wait to be successfully connected to Tor

2. Open BlueWallet, click on the 3 dots at the top right

3. Got to Network > Lightning Settings

4. Scan the LNDHub QR code and save the changes

You can now create as many Lightning wallets as you’d like from your phone.

1. Back on the BlueWallet home screen, click the "+" in the top right.

2. To create a new wallet, select the Lightning option

3. You should see your Node URI pre-completed

4. Click Create and you’re done, you have a new mobile lightning wallet!

You can share the LNDHub QR code with friends and family and they will also be able to create wallets and manage their funds.

Congratulations, you are done!

• Funds can be recovered using the wallet seed phrase.

• Lightning wallets can be recovered with their BlueWallet connection string.

• Funds in channels can be recovered using Static Channel Backups (SCBs)

  • /umbrel/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/channel.backup

Bitcoin wallets:

• Jade Hardware Wallet

Jade wallet is designed and manufactured by Blockstream, a company founded by Adam Back.

The Jade is 100% open source:

• Firmware

• Hardware

If you had to factory reset your Jade or lost it and had to buy a new one, you can easily restore your wallet as long as you have your seed phrase.

Select Setup Jade > Continue > Begin Setup > Restore Wallet > 12 Words and enter each of your seed works in the correct order.

Then you'll be prompted to pair the Jade with green wallet and setup a new PIN the same way than during the wallet creation step.

On this website you can learn how to:

• Create a bitcoin wallet [in progress]

• Setup a bitcoin node

• Setup a lightning node

• Mine bitcoin

• Secure your bitcoins [in progress]

For in-person workshops checkout Bitcoin Network NYC.

Introduction

With remote mining you can get into Bitcoin mining without worrying about hardware installation and maintenance.

Benefits of mining Bitcoin

For short term ROI, you're better of buying Bitcoin directly. Long term, I believe it has 2 benefits:

1. Diversification: In terms of energy flow, I like the idea of a small continuous amount of Bitcoin flowing into my wallet. I believe in redundancy and I don't want 100% of my Bitcoin sitting in cold storage.

2. Acquisition: Getting your hands on new Bitcoins could become much harder as countries fomo into it. The available supply of BTC on exchanges is continuously decreasing:

Mining costs

Below are the most important costs to consider before you start mining Bitcoin remotely:

1. Hardware cost (A single miner costs thousand of dollars)

2. Energy cost (expressed in dollar per kilowatt-hour, or in short $/kWh)

3. Management fee (mining farms can charge you an extra fee for hardware maintenance)

Choosing the right miner

When buying a new Bitcoin miner, there are 2 important things you must consider.

Hashrate

The computational power of a Bitcoin miner is measured by its hasharate. The hashrate indicates how many hashes per second the miner can compute.

In 2025, the hashrate is commonly expressed in terahashes per second (TH/s).

1 TH/s = 1 trillion hashes per second

For example, the Antminer S21 Pro has a hashrate of 234 TH/s.

Efficiency

The efficiency of a miner is measured by how much energy the miner needs to consume to compute 1 terahash (TH). It's usually expressed in joules per terahash (J/TH) or watt per terahash (W/TH).

Efficiency (J/TH or W/TH) = Power (W) / Hashrate (TH/s)

Example, the S21 Pro has a hashrate of 234 TH/s and a power of 3510 W

3510 / 234 = 15

The S21 Pro has an efficiency of 15J/TH which is Tier 1 (excellent).

Conclusion

You need to find the best combination of hashrate and efficiency for your budget.

Mining Fluctuations

This is a more complex topic for which I will make a dedicated section. Roughly speaking, 3 key factors will impact your day to day profitability:

• Fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin

• Fluctuations in your electricity bill

• Flucutations in the mining difficulty

Miners must also consider halvings, which occur approximately every four years and reduce the block reward by half.

How to start mining Bitcoin remotely

To start mining Bitcoin remotely you need to find a farm where you can buy or rent Bitcoin miners. You must also make sure that they offer managed services (miners setup & maintenance).

So far I found one reliable farm but I will update this page when I find more.

Cyberian Mine

Cyberian Mine is a german company with mining farms located in Siberia (Russia).

Pros

• Cheap cost per kWh (as I write this, $0.0608/kWh)

• Recent hardware

• Quick onboarding (same-day)

• Powered by sustainable energy

• (you don't pay for hardware repair or replacement)

• (you keep earning during repairs/replacements)

• Almost all cryptos are accepted for payment

• New farm locations opening in Ethiopia and USA

• No management fee

• Awesome team and fast support

• You can buy partial miners (e.g. 1/10 of an Antminer T21)

• You can resell your hardware instantly (at a discount) or on their marketplace

Cons

• Miners are more expensive (to cover for the lifetime warranty, automatic failover & 0 mngmt fees)

• They only mine on F2Pool and the minimum payout is 0.005 BTC

• You have a claim to the miner but do not own it physically (it cannot be shipped to you)

• Location (Russian laws & regulations can be unstable and change quickly)

How to start mining with Cyberian Mine

1. Create an account

2. Fund your account with crypto or fiat

3. Go to the store

1. Buy a full or partial miner

2. Wait a few hours for your miner to go live

Once your miner is live, you're able to see your performance metrics:

More metrics are also available on your Cyberian Dashboard, such as the hashrate report, Bitcoin earnings and pool payout schedule. You will also find your invoices for the electricity (hosting fee) with a daily breakdown in your profile's settings.

Bonus

• If you keep more than 500 euros in your balance, you get hosting discounts.

• Cyberian has a great telegram channel for support and updates.

What are Bitaxe miners

The official website explains it perfectly ⇒ https://bitaxe.org/

Bitaxe is a Bitcoin miner based on an open-source design and a modern mining ASIC, offering efficiency and customization for users.

The open-source nature allows users to inspect, modify, and enhance the hardware and software to optimize performance based on specific needs or mining environments. Bitaxe is ideal for miners looking for greater control over their operations while contributing to the decentralization of the Bitcoin network.

Initiatives like this help the fight against mining centralization. You can make a donation here.

Bitaxe models

There are several Bitaxe models:

Some of those models are still under development and receiving revisions. You can find more details on Bitaxe's official website.

Where to buy Bitaxe miners

You can find a list of vendors here.

You are also free to purchase all the parts and assemble your miner yourself.

Setting up your Bitaxe miner

Once you've received or assembled your Bitaxe, you can set it up and start mining.

Step 1 - Find your model version

Bitaxe is under active development, with new features and bug fixes frequently released. In addition to your model, you must also note your version/revision number to ensure you flash the correct firmware in the next steps.

In my case, my model is a Bitaxe Supra. My version/revision number is 401. It can be found on the Bitaxe's motheboard:

Step 2 - Download the firmware

Go to this page and download the latest stable firmware for your model and version. In my case:

esp-miner-factory-401-v2.5.0.bin

This file contains:

• The bitaxe firmware

• The web UI (to interact with and configure your Bitaxe)

• A default configuration

Step 3 - Connect to your PC

Plug your Bitaxe into power, then connect it to your PC using a USB-A to USB-C cable.

To identify your Bitaxe's device file, run the following command in your terminal:

sudo dmesg | grep tty

You should see an output similar to this:

[66383.261520] cdc_acm 3-3.2:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device

In my case, this indicates that the miner's device file is /dev/ttyACM0

Step 4 - Flash the firmware

Install bitaxetool

Create a working directory for the flashing process:

mkdir flashing_bitaxe && mv ./esp-miner-factory-401-v2.5.0.bin flashing_bitaxe/ && cd flashing_bitaxe

Next we install the flashing software bitaxetool in a python virtual environment:

python3 -m venv venv

source venv/bin/activate

pip install --upgrade bitaxetool

Create config file

We must also create a config file. You can find templates with default values for each model here.

Here is the template for the Supra 401, also shown below:

key,type,encoding,value
main,namespace,,
hostname,data,string,my-super-bitaxe
wifissid,data,string,wifi-name
wifipass,data,string,wifi-password
stratumurl,data,string,public-pool.io
stratumport,data,u16,21496
stratumuser,data,string,replace-this-with-your-btc-address.my_super_bitaxe.my-super-bitaxe
stratumpass,data,string,password1234
fbstratumurl,data,string,solo.ckpool.org
fbstratumport,data,u16,3333
fbstratumuser,data,string,replace-this-with-your-btc-address.my_super_bitaxe.my-super-bitaxe
fbstratumpass,data,string,password1234
asicfrequency,data,u16,490
asicvoltage,data,u16,1166
asicmodel,data,string,BM1368
devicemodel,data,string,supra
boardversion,data,string,401
rotation,data,u16,0
autofanspeed,data,u16,1
fanspeed,data,u16,100
selftest,data,u16,1
overheat_mode,data,u16,0

Let's look into some of the parameters.

First we got the network config for the Bitaxe to connect automatically to your wifi:

• hostname : It will identify the bitaxe on your local network instead of having to remember its IP

• wifissid : Your Wi-Fi name

• wifipass : Your Wi-Fi password

Then we got the hardware config:

• devicemodel: Model name

• boardversion: Revision number

• asicmodel: The ASIC chip model used by the miner (as detailed here)

• asicfrequency: ASIC cycles per second, expressed in MHz

• asicvoltage: ASIC voltage, expressed in mV

Then we got the pools config. This is for the main pool (here we're using public-pool.io):

• stratumurl

• stratumport

• stratumuser

• stratumpass

And this is for the fallback pool in case the main fails (here we're using ckpool):

• fbstratumurl

• fbstratumport

• fbstratumuser

• fbstratumpass

Flash the firmware

Save the config file in the same working directory. We're now ready to flash with this command:

sudo venv/bin/bitaxetool --port /dev/ttyACM0 --firmware ./esp-miner-factory-401-v2.5.0.bin --config ./config.csv

Once its done, unplug the miner from your PC and from power.

Step 5 - Access the web UI

Once your miner is up and running, you can manage it via its web UI at http://your-miner-IP.

You can also monitor your miners and hashrate on Public Pool by entering the BTC address used in the stratumuser.

Update your Bitaxe

When a new firmware version is released, you can flash it the same way as before.

Alternatively, you can manually update the esp-miner.bin (the firmware) and the ww-bin (the frontend) from the Bitaxe web UI. Just go to Settings and scroll to the very bottom.

Troubleshooting

This link is a good base ⇒ https://d-central.tech/troubleshooting/bitaxe-troubleshooting-guide/

On my 401s I constantly have issues with the display screens not working so I've stopped using them.

Download

Download Page ⇒ https://github.com/getumbrel/umbrel/releases

Download either umbrelos-pi4.img.zip or umbrelos-pi5.img.zip depending on your pi model.

Once it's downloaded, unzip it and find the .img file.

Flash

Connect the micro SD to your computer via the adapter. Next, find your micro SD block device name:

lsblk -o NAME,FSTYPE,FSSIZE,FSAVAIL,MOUNTPOINT

If the micro SD was automatically mounted, ensure you unmount it along with any potentially mounted partitions. For example:

sudo umount /dev/sda1
sudo umount /dev/sda2
sudo umount /dev/sda

Now we can flash the .img into the micro SD:

sudo dd if=/home/alex/Downloads/umbrelos-pi4.img of=/dev/sda bs=1M status=progress

Wait for the prompt to return, this can take a while. Once finished you can safely eject the micro SD.

Setup

From a computer on the same network, access your node at http://umbrel.local.

Follow the setup steps. Leave all settings at default and choose a strong password.

Remote access

For now, the node is only accessible on your home network. To enable remote access from anywhere, we'll use Tor. In Umbrel OS, go to Settings and turn on Remote Tor access.

A .onion address is generated and you can now access your node from anywhere through Tor.

Update the system

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Disable SSH Password Login

In the SSH configuration, make sure password login is disabled (PasswordAuthentication no)

sudo cat /etc/ssh/sshd_config | grep PasswordAuthentication

Setup a firewall

We need to setup a firewall to restrict inbound traffic for our node.

First we install it:

sudo apt install ufw

By default ufw denies all incoming traffic so we must allow inbound SSH traffic before we enable it:

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp

Now we can enable the firewall:

sudo ufw enable

We can check the status with those commands:

sudo ufw status

sudo ufw status verbose

Install Tor

Install Tor:

sudo apt install tor

Add your user:

sudo usermod -a -G debian-tor your-user

You must log out and log back in for the changes to take effect.

Finally we can enable Tor at boot and start it:

sudo systemctl enable tor

sudo systemctl start tor

Install Bitcoin Core dependencies

The following packages will be needed to install Bitcoin Core:

sudo apt install git automake autoconf autotools-dev build-essential cmake make pkg-config protobuf-compiler libminiupnpc-dev libprotobuf-dev libdb++-dev libzmq3-dev libsqlite3-dev libboost-thread-dev libboost-test-dev libboost-all-dev libevent-dev libtool libssl-dev libboost-system-dev libboost-filesystem-dev capnproto libcapnp-dev

Install Node.js

The steps to install Node.js 23 are detailed here.

Install curl:

sudo apt install curl

Download the setup script:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_23.x -o nodesource_setup.sh

Run it:

sudo -E bash nodesource_setup.sh

Install node:

sudo apt install nodejs

Verify the installation:

node -v

And also update npm to the latest version:

sudo npm install -g npm@latest

Install Rust and Cargo

Install dependencies:

sudo apt install -y clang cmake

Install Rust and Cargo:

curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh

Get latest stable version

First clone the repo:

cd ~

git clone https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.git

Next we need to make sure to use the latest stable version. To find it, list the latest tags:

cd bitcoin/

git describe --tags `git rev-list --tags --max-count=20`

The output will look like this:

v28.1
v28.1rc2-6-g36314b8da2
v28.1rc2-5-g58910279dc
v28.1rc2-4-g6a68ef9bfb
v28.1rc2-3-g5b368f88a9
v28.1rc2-2-g05cd448e33
v28.1rc2-1-g621c634b7f
v28.1rc2
v28.1rc1-10-g5576618152
v28.1rc1-9-g01fe07a2ce
v28.1rc1-8-g7ddfcf32da
v28.1rc1-7-ge0b27b234c
v28.1rc1-6-gbdc6b3e531
v28.1rc1-5-ga0585b6087
v28.1rc1-4-gbbde830b97
v28.1rc1-3-g227642d5af
v28.1rc1-2-gb8112cf422
v28.1rc1-1-g2835158be0
v28.1rc1
v28.0-15-g8fef83a0a0

From top (newest) to bottom (oldest) tags, the latest stable version is v28.1.

Now we can switch to that version:

git checkout <version-tag> # Example: git checkout v28.1

Configure, Compile and Install

For version 29 and after

Create the configuration files:

cmake -B build -DBUILD_GUI=OFF # OPTION 1: Wallet functionalty enabled
cmake -B build -DBUILD_GUI=OFF -DENABLE_WALLET=OFF # OPTION 2: Wallet functionality disabled

Now compile the source code:

cmake --build build -j $(nproc)

Finally, copy the binaries to system-wide directories:

sudo cmake --install build

For version 28 and before

Create the configuration files:

./autogen.sh

Use one of the following two commands to apply the configuration files:

./configure --without-gui # OPTION 1: Wallet functionalty enabled
./configure --without-gui --disable-wallet # OPTION 2: Wallet functionality disabled

Now compile the source code:

make -j $(nproc)

Finally, copy the binaries to system-wide directories:

sudo make install

Verify Installation

Run the following to verify the installation:

bitcoin --version

bitcoind --version

Configure Bitcoin Core

Base Configuration

Let's create the needed files:

cd ~

mkdir ~/.bitcoin

touch ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf

Add the following configuration to the bitcoin.conf file we just created:

# Enable JSON-RPC API on port 8332
server=1
# Restrict JSON-RPC API to localhost only
rpcbind=127.0.0.1
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
# Run Bitcoin Core as a background daemon
daemon=1
# Accept incoming P2P traffic (port 8333) to be a full participant in the network 
# If set to 0, other nodes can't sync from us, but we can still sync from them
listen=1
# Keep full index of all transactions, not just those of the node's wallet.
# Uses more space but allows querying any transaction by its txid
# We need it if we want to run an Electrum Server or a blockchain explorer
txindex=1
# Cache size in MBs. Lower it to 500 after the first blockchain sync is complete. 
dbcache=3000
# Run the node **only** on the Tor network
onlynet=onion
proxy=127.0.0.1:9050
bind=127.0.0.1
# Use native segwit addresses by default
addresstype=bech32
changetype=bech32

JSON-RPC API

Bitcoin provides a control interface via a JSON-RPC API on port 8332. We enabled with server=1 in the bitcoin.conf file.

Other locally running applications that need to interact with Bitcoin's JSON-RPC API will use the cookie located at ~/.bitcoin/.cookie.

If you ever want to connect remotely running applications to the JSON-RPC API, you can create a set of credentials with the command below:

python3 ~/bitcoin/share/rpcauth/rpcauth.py <username-of-your-choice>

Verify the output and append the mentioned line to the bottom of the bitcoin.conf file.

Configure Tor

Bitcoin Core and other applications you install will heavily rely on Tor to connect with peers and ensure our wallets remain accessible. Proper configuration is critical.

Tor-default Configuration

Edit the default tor configuration file:

sudo vim /etc/tor/torrc

Add the following lines:

SocksPort 9050
ControlPort 9051
CookieAuthentication 1
CookieAuthFileGroupReadable 1

• SocksPort ⇒ SOCKS proxy, routes traffic through the Tor network

• ControlPort ⇒ Allows other programs to interact with the Tor daemon

• CookieAuthentication ⇒ Requires local cookie authentication to access the control port (/run/tor/control.authcookie)

• CookieAuthFileGroupReadable ⇒ Only users in the debian-tor group can authenticate with the cookie

Now restart tor:

sudo systemctl restart tor@default

Tor-Instance Configuration

Choose a strong password, then generate a hash with tor:

tor --hash-password "YourStrongPasswordHere"

This will output a hash for the password specified, example:

16:DCC57869A5B8899B60F099CCF421641762DDD9DEFBB385F28A2031CE3C

Now edit your tor instance config like /etc/tor/instances/tor4bitcoin/torrc to add the following:

SocksPort 9060
ControlPort 9061
HashedControlPassword
16:DCC57869A5B8899B60F099CCF421641762DDD9DEFBB385F28A2031CE3C

Now enable and start the tor instance:

sudo systemctl enable --now tor@tor4bitcoin

Next edit ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf and edit this line with the right tor socks port:

proxy=127.0.0.1:9060

Next add these lines. Make sure to add the right tor control port and the password you chose before.

torcontrol=127.0.0.1:9061
torpassword=YourStrongPasswordHere

Hidden Onion Service for the JSON-RPC API

As configured, the JSON-RPC API is accessible only from localhost. To expose this port externally, you can create a Tor service for it.

Configure systemd service

Bitcoin Core's main program is bitcoind (short for Bitcoin Daemon). We will configure it as a systemd service to simplify management:

sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/bitcoind.service

Add the following:

[Unit]
Description=Bitcoin Daemon
After=network.target

[Service]
User=your_user
PIDFile=/home/your_user/.bitcoin/bitcoind.pid
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/bitcoind
Restart=always
TimeoutSec=120
RestartSec=30

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

• In User=, replace your_user with your own user

• Do the same in the path of PIDFile=

• Verify the path of ExecStart= by running the command which bitcoind

Finally, reload systemd:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Startup

Configure bitcoind to automatically start at boot:

sudo systemctl enable bitcoind.service

Start bitcoind:

sudo systemctl start bitcoind.service

Initial Synchronization

Your node will now connect to other peers to download and verify the entire blockchain, block by block, starting from the genesis block on January 3, 2009.

Monitoring

Logs

To view the Bitcoin Core logs:

tail -f ~/.bitcoin/debug.log

You can monitor progress live by checking for height= or progress=.

bitcoin-cli

bitcoin-cli is part of Bitcoin Core and serves as a command-line interface for the JSON-RPC API.

Node Status

You can use it to monitor the status of your node and the synchronization progress:

bitcoin-cli -getinfo

Network Info

You can use it to check your integration with the P2P network:

bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo

If you're using Tor, note in the output how Bitcoin used the Tor control port to create an onion service for P2P on port 8333.

[...]
"localaddresses": [
    {
        "address": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.onion",
        "port": 8333,
        "score": 4
    }
[...]

Blockchain Data

Get the current block height:

bitcoin-cli getblockcount

Get some blockchain statstics:

bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo

Post Synchronization

Once fully synchronized, edit Bitcoin's config file located at ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf, and lower the value of dbcache to 500. Then, restart Bitcoin:

sudo systemctl restart bitcoind.service

Power Button

Press and hold to turn on / turn off your Jade.

Wheel

Turn left or right to switch between options

Select button

Press to select an option

The Jade supports multiple modes:

• Bluetooth: Wireless connection to the Green Wallet app on your phone.

• USB: Direct connection to your computer using a cable.

• QR: Air-gapped communication by scanning QR codes.

• Micro SD: Air-gapped communication by using microSD cards.

Before you get started with the tutorial, install Green wallet on your phone:

This wallet is fully open source:

Anytime you want to use your wallet to send or receive bitcoins you will have to unlock it.

Press and hold the power button to turn on the Jade. Then select Unlock Jade:

Now on your phone, open Green Wallet and proceed with Bluetooth pairing using the same method as for the wallet creation in the previous step. Once the pairing is complete, you will be prompted to enter your PIN on your Jade.

Once you've entered your PIN, your Jade is unlocked and you can use the mobile app to send and receive BTC.

To receive Bitcoin, simply hit Receive at the bottom right of Green wallet:

Share the QR code or Bitcoin address to the sender. Once the funds are sent, the incoming transaction should show up pretty quickly in Green wallet.

To send Bitcoin, hit Send at the bottom left of Green wallet:

Next, enter the recipient's bitcoin address or scan the QR code and hit Next:

Select the amount of bitcoin you wish to send and hit Next:

Slide to send the transaction:

You are now informed that you must confirm the transaction on your Jade:

Review the transaction:

And finally, confirm it:

On Green wallet you should see a confirmation that the transaction has been sent:

When you're done you should always lock your Jade.

Simply select Session > Logout:

Now you can power off the Jade by pressing and holding the power button.

You can learn how to mine bitcoin remotely using managed solution or how to mine at home using open source miners.

We will cover two methods of setting up your own bitcoin node:

For this tutorial, we use the original Jade wallet, which can be purchased from Blockstream's shop:

• Blockstream Jade Hardware Wallet

The Jade comes with a battery. To charge it, you can use the provided USB to USB-C cable.

Alternatively, for more security, you can purchase a non-data transfer cable or use a wall charger to avoid connecting to a PC.

Choose a connection method

Open Electrs, you'll notice 2 methods of connecting: Local Network and Tor.

Download Pi Imager

To flash the OS onto the portable SSD we will use a software utility called Raspberry Pi Imager. You can download it .

Press and hold the power button to start the Jade.

Select Setup Jade > Continue > Begin Setup:

Next select Create Wallet > Continue:

Write down your seed words on a piece of paper or another non-digital medium.

An Electrum server is an indexing layer built on top of Bitcoin Core. It enables more efficient blockchain queries and easier wallet connections. Most wallets support Electrum.

We're going to use Electrs, a Rust implementation of an Electrum Server.

Install Electrs

Clone the repo:

cd ~

git clone https://github.com/romanz/electrs.git

Source the env file to update your $PATH with Rust & Cargo binaries:

Now you can compile electrs:

Once it's done, test the compilation was successful by checking the version:

Configure Electrs

Create the configuration file:

Add the following configuration to the config.toml file we just created:

• cookie_file: Electrs can use the Bitcoin JSON-RPC API with .

• daemon_rpc_addr: Bitcoin JSON-RPC API address and port.

• daemon_p2p_addr: Bitcoin P2P address and port.

Create Tor hidden service

We need to create a Tor hidden service to connect our wallets to the Electrum server. Edit the conf file:

Add the following:

Save it then restart tor:

Configure systemd service

Create the service file:

Add the following:

Line 6,7,8 and 9 make sure to replace your_user by your own user. Finally, reload systemd:

Startup

Configure Electrs to automatically start at boot:

Start Electrs:

Electrum will now connect to Bitcoin Core to build its own index of the blockchain.

Monitoring

Check the logs and monitor progress in real time: