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The research division of crypto exchange BitMEX is testing a satellite Bitcoin system that can run a node via satellite without an internet connection.
In a new blog post, BitMex says it has successfully installed a Blockstream Bitcoin satellite system following its recent experiment with Bitcoin miners. The team used a Blockstream Satellite pro kit and Blockstream’s flat-panel antenna with a total cost of $1,200.
Source: BitMEX
BitMEX crypto exchange has a research division that is testing a satellite Bitcoin system. The research is being concentrated on establishing a bitcoin system that can run on Node through a satellite without the need for any network connectivity.
BitMEX released its latest blog and it has said that it has successfully installed a Blockstream Satellite system after its recent experimental stint with Bitcoin miners. The team made use of the Blockstream Satellite pro kit and the flat panel antenna that cost around $1200.
The Blockstream Satellite system is a way to down and verify Bitcoin’s Blockchain through satellite. The system installation did happen quicker than expected and the connection has sufficient bandwidth to keep the node at Bitcoin’s tip.
“Essentially all one needs to do is install the satellite dish, point it in the right direction, connect it to a laptop running Linux and run some custom Blockstream software, along with a modified version of Bitcoin Core 0.19.1.”
Once the syncing was done, the satellite-based node had some catching up with the nodes connected to the internet for around 2-minutes. BitMex said that when using the satellite, the entire history of the block can get into a slight delay.
“The client downloads the blocks in chunks, firstly the block header in chunks, followed by the main body of the block, again in chunks. Based on the way the satellite broadcasts the block data, the node does not always download blocks in a continuous order and is able to fill the gaps of missing blocks later on.”
BitMEX also added its satellite node to the Fork Monitor website. The node can be detected by the satellite receiver emoji and one can even track the node performance compared to internet-based nodes. It usually gets stuck or lags by a few blocks but most of the time it is at the chain tip.
Source: BitMEX
The satellite enables the users to synchronize their Bitcoin node and download and verify full blocks without the need for any internet connection. This way, those users who function from extremely remote areas with no reliable internet connection can find satellite useful. It possibly could also reduce the risk if an eclipse attack.
A few months ago in May, the blockchain technology company Blockstream issues a major upgrade to its free satellite services. As per the new upgrade, the dependability on an internet connection has been completely removed with the increase in data capacity from 120kbps to nearly 1.6 Mbps.