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16 sats \ 2 replies \ @sudonaka 28 Feb 2023 \ on: Electrum Servers: what are they? bitcoin
Electrum servers index the blockchain and interface with wallets.
While you can just use Bitcoin Core wallet functions- most personal nodes also run electrum servers to connect other types of wallets to the blockchain in a self-sovereign way.
https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum
Bitcoin Core runs independently from Electrum servers, correct? I mean, a node does not have to connect to a server because its got all the necessary information pertaining to interactions with the Bitcoin network?
My understanding is that an Electrum server needs to be installed on top of a node plus the Electrum wallet? Then, the server operates as a middleman between nodes and wallets to speed up the data interaction process?
I'm not certain these questions make sense. I do have a node package with Electrs installed and been using it a long time and connecting wallets to it but just now am I trying to better understand what I'm using.
The Electrum/EPS/Electrs repos have so far not enlightened me sufficiently. I suppose a diagram would be handy.
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Yeah, you are basically right.
Two ways to look at it.
- It's a fancy Bitcoin node. But the rest of the network doesn't really care
- Bitcoin core is not that great at looking up the balance of random addresses. Which is why Electrum exists.
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