Analysts from BitMEX Research installed and tested Blockstream’s product, which enables a Bitcoin node to download and verify the blockchain via satellite without an Internet connection.
[1/3] Bitcoin Satellite
We have installed the @Blockstream Bitcoin Satellite system, a way to download and verify Bitcoin’s blockchain via satellite, without the need for an internet connection
📡📡📡@adam3us @Excellion https://t.co/4FmA1v1qon pic.twitter.com/AOy3tWjG31
— BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) September 14, 2020
For the tests, BitMEX Research used a Blockstream Satellite Pro kit and a flat-panel antenna costing almost $1,200 in total.
Blockstream Satellite Pro kit. Source: BitMEX Research.
Analysts noted that installing and configuring the device took a few hours, and the process was “easier than they expected”.
To do this, they had to connect the device to a Linux-powered laptop, run Blockstream’s software together with a modified Bitcoin Core 0.19 client. The most challenging part was aligning the antenna to the geostationary satellite, BitMEX Research added.
As the researchers found, the satellite connection provides sufficient bandwidth for the node to receive block data on time most of the time. The latency compared with an Internet connection is 5-10 seconds. Full download and verification of blocks lags by about two minutes.
BitMEX clarified that sometimes the satellite node lags by a few blocks. The exchange’s analysts stressed that they have been operating the kit for only a few days and data may be imprecise.
In their view, Blockstream’s product “deserves high praise,” though they expressed doubt about its practical usefulness. The analysts named potential users as residents of “remote places in jurisdictions with very strict internet censorship.”
That the satellite node receives blockchain data centrally via Blockstream, the researchers even considered an advantage. They said this could be viewed as an additional layer of protection against the risk of an information blackout attack on the node.
In May, Blockstream launched a major update to its Satellite network, Satellite 2.0, and announced the sale of connection kits.
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