<p>No. bitcoind does not have a SPV mode at all.</p>

<p>Pruning is not the same thing as SPV because a pruned node still downloads and verifies the blockchain. Just instead of storing all of the blocks in the blockchain, it discards  blocks when they become deep enough in the blockchain. This reduces disk usage but does not effect security, bandwidth usage, or initial sync time. Pruned still receive all blocks and transactions, validate them, and relay them.</p>

<p>Conversely, SPV wallets do not even download or verify the blockchain at all. They only do simple verification, not full verification. SPV wallets only download block headers and check the proof of work. They do not and cannot check entire block validity like full nodes can. This allows SPV wallets to have a much much faster initial sync time at the cost of security. SPV wallets do not receive all blocks and transactions and thus cannot validate or relay them.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-01T11:35:00.190Z
Thanks for the answer, which is very clear and straightforward. One more question here, do you know is there any other library/tool could be used to create a SPV node?
Carpemer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-01T16:12:34.833Z
BitcoinJ is a Java library that uses [BIP 37](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0037.mediawiki) for it's SPV stuff.
Ava Chow
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-01T02:36:57.963Z
2019-01-01T02:36:57.963Z
Ava Chow
<p>There are multi nodes type could be used in bitcoin network.</p>

<p>Could bitcoind support running different types of nodes by different sets of args?</p>

<p>I found many discussion here, but seems no clear conclusion. <br>
<a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/48882/is-there-a-light-spv-version-of-bitcoin-core-bitcoind">Is there a light (SPV) version of bitcoin core (bitcoind)?</a></p>

<p>Per my understanding, if we use pruning, the node will drop the previous data block, and can not preserve all the transactions of a specific address set.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/4tzwe.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/4tzwe.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<bitcoind><spv>
Could bitcoind support SPV mode by setting different args
Carpemer
# Could bitcoind support SPV mode by setting different args

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-01)

There are multi nodes type could be used in bitcoin network.

Could bitcoind support running different types of nodes by different sets of args?

I found many discussion here, but seems no clear conclusion.   
[Is there a light (SPV) version of bitcoin core (bitcoind)?](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/48882/is-there-a-light-spv-version-of-bitcoin-core-bitcoind)

Per my understanding, if we use pruning, the node will drop the previous data block, and can not preserve all the transactions of a specific address set.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/4tzwe.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/4tzwe.png)

**Tags:** bitcoind, spv


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-01-01. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

No. bitcoind does not have a SPV mode at all.

Pruning is not the same thing as SPV because a pruned node still downloads and verifies the blockchain. Just instead of storing all of the blocks in the blockchain, it discards blocks when they become deep enough in the blockchain. This reduces disk usage but does not effect security, bandwidth usage, or initial sync time. Pruned still receive all blocks and transactions, validate them, and relay them.

Conversely, SPV wallets do not even download or verify the blockchain at all. They only do simple verification, not full verification. SPV wallets only download block headers and check the proof of work. They do not and cannot check entire block validity like full nodes can. This allows SPV wallets to have a much much faster initial sync time at the cost of security. SPV wallets do not receive all blocks and transactions and thus cannot validate or relay them.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for the answer, which is very clear and straightforward. One more question here, do you know is there any other library/tool could be used to create a SPV node?  
> **username_1**: BitcoinJ is a Java library that uses [BIP 37](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0037.mediawiki) for it's SPV stuff.  

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