Bitcoin Core full node software you run at home
- Regulatory status
- Not a financial service
- Custody
- Self-custody: you hold the keys
- Open source
- Yes
- Website
- https://bitcoincore.org
- Status
- Active
Swiss angle
Bitcoin Core is a global project with no Swiss base. The download page, read on 5 October 2026, calls it a community-driven free software project released under the MIT licence and names no company behind it. It runs on your own computer and holds nobody's money, so it is not a financial service.
No page we read names a Swiss office, a franc price or a Swiss language setting. The software costs nothing; you pay for the hardware and the power it draws.
A node at home does not change your tax duty. You still declare your coins at the ESTV year-end value in the wealth tax section of your return; the Swiss Bitcoin tax guide explains how. What a node changes is privacy: your wallet asks your own copy of the chain about your addresses, not a public server.
The technical deep dive chapter explains what a full node checks and why that matters.
Who it is for
People who want to verify the rules of Bitcoin themselves. The download page lists version 31.1 as the latest release, with builds for Windows, macOS and Linux on x86, ARM and RISC-V. The GitHub releases page shows v31.1 published on 8 July 2026.
Hands-on users who install it by hand. The node setup guide walks through the steps. If you would rather have a box with a web dashboard, look at Umbrel: its Bitcoin Node app page says the app is powered by Bitcoin Core and lets you choose which version your node runs. Start9 and RaspiBlitz are the other node boxes in this directory.
Wallet users who want a private backend. The Sparrow listing shows how that wallet connects to your own Bitcoin Core node, and you can run your own mempool.space explorer next to it.
Lightning users. The LND README names bitcoind, the Bitcoin Core daemon, as one of its chain backends, so LND can run on top of your node.
Who it is not for
People short on disk space or bandwidth. The download page says Bitcoin Core needs a one-time download of about 600 GB of data plus a further 5 to 10 GB per month. With pruning, the same page says you can store as little as 10 GB in total without giving up any security. You still download the whole chain once.
People who will not verify what they install. The download page calls verification optional but highly recommended, and warns that a tampered version may result in loss of funds. If checking signatures with GPG sounds like too much, a node box that handles updates may suit you better.
Anyone who only wants to hold bitcoin. A wallet does not need your own node to work; start with the self-custody guide.
Verified facts
| Source | Checked on |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin Core download: version 31.1, about 600 GB, 10 GB pruned | |
| Bitcoin Core on GitHub (MIT, v31.1) |
This directory carries no paid placements and no referral codes. No provider paid to be listed or to be described in a certain way. Each fact was checked against the primary source on the date shown next to it, and facts change after that date. This page is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice.