<ol>
<li><p>For an exchange, 170GB is not a lot, at all. In fact, it's a laughably small amount. Even on an SSD (which is not necessary), the storage cost would be about $100. Big exchanges might make $1M in revenue <strong>every day</strong>. Operating a node (or ten) is a complete non-issue.</p></li>
<li><p>You seem to be thinking that if Bitcoin's blockchain is 170GB, then so are the others. But Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency, and it has way more transactions than any other (with the possible exception of Ethereum, which is more wasteful and has high traffic due to the ICO hype). The blockchains for most cryptocurrencies are tiny in comparison, and the sum total storage shouldn't be more than, say, 1TB (again, tiny for any large business). A single machine could run nodes for all coins.</p></li>
<li><p>SPV clients (like Electrum for Bitcoin) offer a middle ground between running a full node, and relying completely on a 3rd party service.</p></li>
<li><p>Ultimately, every exchange decides how to set up its infrastructure. It might run a node. It might not. There's no real way to answer this in general, this is something which should be asked of each specific exchange.</p></li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-26T22:44:46.193Z
2018-09-27T08:02:57.830Z
2018-09-27T08:02:57.830Z
Meni Rosenfeld
<p>Funding is the answer to your unasked question. A standard 10U blade server can hold 24 servers--you can fit 4 in a standard rack and still have room for a 150TB NAS and routing. A modest setup could be had for under 100k and could easily support full nodes of a hundred cryptocurrencies.</p>

<p>No reputable exchange would host their wallets, private keys, and critical customer data on 3rd party servers. There's just too much at stake.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-27T08:01:41.527Z
The OP didn't ask about private keys (or customer data). You can use someone else's node while keeping the private keys yourself.
Meni Rosenfeld
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-27T10:41:39.753Z
Again, that assumes a huge amount of risk while the upside is limited. I don't think any reputable exchange would rely on third party full nodes.
Motoma
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-26T22:48:58.877Z
2018-09-26T22:48:58.877Z
Motoma
<p>This is an important question for me, I know some Bitcoin wallets like blockchain.info are a Full Node, but exchanges which support so many coins, how do they create transactions per cryptocurrency? do they have a full node client for per cryptocurrency?</p>

<p>Just Bitcoin needs 170 GB space disk!</p>

<p>Are exchanges using third-party servers and apis?</p>

<bitcoin-core><wallet>
How exchanges generate transactions for all cryptocurrencies and send it to their network nodes?
mohammad
# How exchanges generate transactions for all cryptocurrencies and send it to their network nodes?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-09-26)

This is an important question for me, I know some Bitcoin wallets like blockchain.info are a Full Node, but exchanges which support so many coins, how do they create transactions per cryptocurrency? do they have a full node client for per cryptocurrency?

Just Bitcoin needs 170 GB space disk!

Are exchanges using third-party servers and apis?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, wallet


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-09-26. Score: 1

1. For an exchange, 170GB is not a lot, at all. In fact, it's a laughably small amount. Even on an SSD (which is not necessary), the storage cost would be about $100. Big exchanges might make $1M in revenue **every day**. Operating a node (or ten) is a complete non-issue.
2. You seem to be thinking that if Bitcoin's blockchain is 170GB, then so are the others. But Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency, and it has way more transactions than any other (with the possible exception of Ethereum, which is more wasteful and has high traffic due to the ICO hype). The blockchains for most cryptocurrencies are tiny in comparison, and the sum total storage shouldn't be more than, say, 1TB (again, tiny for any large business). A single machine could run nodes for all coins.
3. SPV clients (like Electrum for Bitcoin) offer a middle ground between running a full node, and relying completely on a 3rd party service.
4. Ultimately, every exchange decides how to set up its infrastructure. It might run a node. It might not. There's no real way to answer this in general, this is something which should be asked of each specific exchange.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2018-09-26. Score: 0

Funding is the answer to your unasked question. A standard 10U blade server can hold 24 servers--you can fit 4 in a standard rack and still have room for a 150TB NAS and routing. A modest setup could be had for under 100k and could easily support full nodes of a hundred cryptocurrencies.

No reputable exchange would host their wallets, private keys, and critical customer data on 3rd party servers. There's just too much at stake.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The OP didn't ask about private keys (or customer data). You can use someone else's node while keeping the private keys yourself.  
> **username_2**: Again, that assumes a huge amount of risk while the upside is limited. I don't think any reputable exchange would rely on third party full nodes.  

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