How to Install Bitcoin BTC on OpenBSD Server

There are many different Bitcoin wallets for different operating systems, but one of the best wallets available to use is Bitcoin Core. One of the main reasons to use it is because it is the official Bitcoin wallet, so you can trust it.

Plus, it has a lot of cool features that are easy to set up and use. In this article, we will cover the different ways to install and activate the Bitcoin Core Wallet on an OpenBSD server.

We will also cover how to download the Bitcoin blockchain to use, how to encrypt and back up your Core wallet, and more!

A. How does bitcoind work?

Bitcoind is a program that implements the Bitcoin protocol for use with remote procedure calls (RPC Server). It is also the second Bitcoin client in the history of the network. It is available under the MIT license in 32-bit and 64-bit versions for Windows, BSD, Linux, and Mac OS X.

bitcoind is a multithreaded C++ program. It is designed to be used across Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

The multithreaded aspect introduces some complexity and uses certain code patterns to handle concurrency that may be unfamiliar to many programmers. Additionally, the code is aggressive in its use of C++ constructs, so it helps to be familiar with map, multimap, set, string, vector, iostream, and templates. As is common with C++ programs, much of the code tends to end up in header files, so be sure to look for .cpp and .h files when looking for functions.

The client is oriented around a few key operations, which are described in a separate detailed article and summarized in the following sections.

a). Initialization and Startup

At startup, the client performs various initialization routines including starting multiple threads to handle concurrent operations.

b). Node Discovery

The client uses various techniques to find out about other Bitcoin nodes currently connected to the network.

c). Node Connectivity

The client initiates and maintains connections to other nodes.

d). Sockets and Messaging

The client processes messages from other nodes and sends messages to other nodes using socket connections.

e). Block Exchange

Nodes advertise their block inventories to each other and exchange blocks to build the block chain.

f). Transaction Exchange

Nodes exchange and relay transactions with each other. The client associates transactions with bitcoin addresses in local wallets.

g). Wallet Services

The client can create transactions using a local wallet. The client associates transactions with bitcoin addresses in local wallets. The client provides services to manage local wallets.

h). RPC Interface

The client offers a JSON-RPC interface over HTTP via sockets to perform various operational functions and manage local wallets.

i). User Interface

Bitcoind’s current user interface is command line, whereas previously it was based on wxWidgets. A graphical user interface is now available in version 0.5+ for the reference client.

B. Bitcoin BTC Installation Process on OpenBSD

Before we start the Bitcoin installation process, there are many dependencies that you must set. The main function of these dependencies is to connect the client computer (OpenBSD) to the Bitcoin Blockchain network.

Similar to other operating systems, dependencies are the main and basic things that must be done before installing Bitcoin.

1. Install Bitcoin Dependencies

On the OpenBSD system, there are many dependencies needed to run Bitcoin (BTC). You must install all of these dependencies, and don’t miss any. Okay, let’s just install the Bitcoin dependencies for OpenBSD.

ns5# pkg_add bash git gmake libevent libtool boost
ns5# pkg_add autoconf automake python

Another very important dependency is sqlite3. This application will record all Bitcoin transactions and wallet addresses.

ns5# pkg_add sqlite3

2. Install bitcoind

After all the above dependencies are installed, then we continue by installing the bitcoind wallet. There are two ways to install bitcoind, namely through the Github repository or through the pkg package in OpenBSD.

However, because we are using the OpenBSD server, we recommend that you use the bitcoind pkg package in the OpenBSD repository. As a first step, we will update your OpenBSD pkg package.

ns5# pkg_add -uvi

After the update process is complete, we continue by installing bitcoin.

ns5# pkg_add bitcoin

C. Bitcoin BTC Configuration Process on OpenBSD

After you have run all the steps above, you cannot run bitcoind. In order for bitcoind to run normally, you must set up some bitcoin scripts.

1. Create RPC user and password

To be able to connect securely to your Bitcoin wallet, you must create a Bitcoin user and password.

ns5# /usr/local/share/bitcoin/rpcauth.py unixwinbsd
String to be appended to bitcoin.conf:
rpcauth=unixwinbsd:7313031c969f8d09285f14df3ea4b4fc$f426ac2491495cee7cc1148c72273b87bc485b6360fc954708c3c6d1e32df4ba
Your password:
NfV8c-LBkMkxbX4y6wqAhCa9I6E7EYUF3lAf1WXy6sg

“unixwinbsd” is the Bitcoin RPC username, you can replace unixwinbsd as you wish.

2. Edit the bitcoin.conf File

The main Bitcoin configuration file is “bitcoin.conf”. You must change this file so that Bitcoin can run according to the script instructions in it. Open the file and enter the password and RPC user that you created above.

port=8333
rpcport=8332
rpcuser=unixwinbsd
rpcpassword=NfV8c-LBkMkxbX4y6wqAhCa9I6E7EYUF3lAf1WXy6sg
prune=550

3. Copy the bitcoin.conf file to /root

By default in OpenBSD, all the contents of the blocks and chainstate files are in /root. So you should change the path of bitcoin.conf in /etc.

It’s okay if you don’t change it, but we recommend that you change the path of bitcoin.conf to /root. Follow the instructions below to copy the bitcoin.conf file to .root.

ns5# mkdir -p /root/.bitcoin
ns5# cp -R /etc/bitcoin.conf /root/.bitcoin

Well, the configuration process is now complete. Now your bitcoind is ready to run.

D. Running Bitcoin BTC on OpenBSD

This step is the last step and the one you have been waiting for, because we will test whether bitcoind has run well or not. Before you run bitcoind, first activate bitcoind on OpenBSD.

ns5# rcctl enable bitcoind
ns5# rcctl restart bitcoind
bitcoind(ok)
bitcoind(ok)
ns5#

Once bitcoind is active, you can run bitcoind with the “daemon” command.

ns5# bitcoind -daemon
Bitcoin Core starting
ns5#

Additionally, you can check and monitor how the synchronization process is going with the command below.

ns5# bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo | grep verification
  "verificationprogress": 8.553447505757082e-10,

Note that the "verificationprogress" parameter does not need to reach 1.0000, as a value closer to 0.9999 will indicate that the node is already synchronized.

Once the blockchain is synchronized, you can check its status with bitcoin-cli.

ns5# bitcoin-cli getconnectioncount
10
ns5# bitcoin-cli getblockcount
0

Remember to reduce the blockchain size by pruning (removing) old blocks, otherwise you will have to download and verify the entire chain and this may take a few days. Check the prue value in /etc/bitcoin.conf. I prefer 550MB.

That’s it! You should now have a fully functional Bitcoin node!