Nayuta, a layer-2 blockchain technology development company and active contributor to the Lightning Network, announced today it has introduced the first lightning wallet to implement a “Bitcoin full node and SPV mode” hybrid on Android and released its code on Github. By open-sourcing, users or developers will be able to confirm how this wallet actually works and/or modify it by themselves.
The emergence of a full node on a mobile
Generally speaking, running a full node gives users improved privacy, security, and self-sovereignty. A full node usually runs on a PC due to the necessity of the high-performance CPU, broadband internet connection with high speed, and large storage.
However, recently some ideas on running it on a smartphone have come out. ABCore by GreenAddress, for example, is an Android app that makes it easy to run Bitcoin Core. On top of that, HTC has also recently launched the Exodus 1 smartphone that can run a full node inside the hardware itself along with extra security features.
Nayuta Wallet to run a full node and SPV mode
In order to contribute to accelerating this trend and to the wider Bitcoin and Lightning community, Nayuta implemented and open-sourced the Nayuta Wallet, the first lightning wallet to introduce a “full node and SPV mode” hybrid on Android ala ABCore.
By simply installing the Nayuta Wallet app on any Android device, users can start smoothly playing with a Bitcoin full node and Lightning Network. With this, users can enjoy benefits such as the following.
Running a full node on mobile instead of PC
Nayuta Wallet is available for many regular Android phones today. In full node configuration, the full node will validate all blocks (fully validating node) of course, however, the transaction history will be pruned to conserve the storage (pruned node). As it keeps only a fraction of the transaction history, users don’t need extra hardware such as SD cards
The choice between the control of a full node and the convenience of SPV
Nayuta Wallet enables users to switch between a full node and SPV mode for the desired balance of control and convenience. Regular users may use it as a simple SPV lightning wallet for convenience and ease of use on most occasions. However, if they desire more control and sovereignty, they can simply switch the lightning wallet to use the full node.
Furthermore, there is an additional hybrid mode giving users even more configuration, for example, the wallet can run in SPV mode for ease and convenience when the user is out and about whilst the full node runs periodically in the background validating blocks. This validation can be further configured to run only when the user is connected to Wi-Fi and their device is charging in order to conserve battery life and mobile data.
Bitcoin full node and Lightning Network on mobile
The Nayuta Wallet is the first Lightning Network mobile wallet with an integrated Bitcoin full node. Regular users can use it as a usual lightning wallet whilst developers or power users can run the full node.
“We believe Lightning payment will be a vital feature for future Bitcoin wallets. We hope the combination of Bitcoin full node and Lightning Network on mobile will help realize the possibilities of both of them.”
– The Nayuta Team