Earlier this month Microsoft announced our addition to their new blockchain as a service (BaaS) platform hosted on the cloud service Azure. Our open source Bitcoin full node and development platform Bitcore is the first Bitcoin service available for Azure users.
Run A Full Bitcoin Node in the Cloud
We built Bitcore to lower the barrier to entry to Bitcoin development. Whether you want to help build Bitcoin's peer to peer network or build better Bitcoin infrastructure for your company, running a full node is the best way to get started. Running Bitcore on the Azure cloud will make hosting a node even easier by getting rid of the need for local, dedicated machines.
Bitcore provides a comprehensive set of Node.js language libraries for extending Bitcoin's functionality. It also comes with a native set of utilities that allow users to test and develop Bitcoin services without relying on third party APIs for querying the blockchain. Along with Bitcore's full node, this reduces the requirement for trust and removes single points of failure for companies running Bitcoin services.
Bitcoin API Calls – 20x Faster
A Bitcore node's direct access to the blockchain via its native bindings to Bitcoind makes Bitcore-based services 20X faster than those using JSON-RPC. That's a significant performance improvement for services that rely on blockchain data, from payment processors and exchanges to block explorers.
We've already implemented Bitcore as the backend for our own bitcoin wallet Copay. Users can choose to connect directly to private Bitcoin nodes using our Bitcore Wallet Service, which includes a command line client made for business users.
Building Blockchain Services With Bitcore
Bitcore's service architecture also makes it possible to create new types of applications for the Bitcoin blockchain, from issuing digital assets to proving ownership of digital files.
Start building out Bitcoin infrastructure in your own project or company with the easiest way to run a Bitcoin full node. Check out our quickstart page for running a full node and block explorer with Bitcore and use our detailed guides to get up and running fast with other services. If you have any feedback, let us know on our forums.
