RE: New Bitshares API Full-Node in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
Sure. An API node is just a server that connects to the Bitshares blockchain and provides all the data necessary to run a wallet. The users wallet, either through a website or by an app on their computer/phone sends out requests for information like market data, account balances, history etc. as well as requests for placing orders and sending funds. The API node handles these request so the user doesn't need to run a full server themselves.
Bitshares users benefit by having another location to connect to. For a while the only servers you could find were in Germany or China. These few servers were getting over worked and because they were halfway around the world for US users the latency was often so high that the wallet became hard to use or unstable.
Having more nodes means spreading the workload around as well as offering closer connections for lower latency which should provide a more consistent and enjoyable experience.
Okay. Thank you for explaining this to me.
Didn't know in Germany, which is my home country, some people where running those servers.
I guess it is similar to all the nods that keep the Steem blockchain running.
May I also ask what is the benefit of running those nod servers, are you getting a share from the transaction fees for example?
It seems you are doing quit some work there, you surely shouldn't do it all for free!
And can a nod provider abuse the server to get some users information?
It is time to catch some sleep over here in Japan.
I'm looking forward to your reply and I hope you enjoy the rest of the day!!
There's no direct financial benefit for running an API node. No cut of transaction or anything like that. I would say there is an indirect benefit though. By supporting the network and providing a better experience for users it can translate to a higher BTS price which benefits all Bitshares holders. As well, it is a positive mark for someones reputation in the community if they are doing other things like worker proposals or campaigning for a witness position. It's important for those people to be active in their support for the network and to do things that others may be unwilling or unable to do.
As for what a bad malicious node provider could do to harm a user or the network? The worst they can do is either feed the user bad data causing them to make decisions they wouldn't normally have made or blocking the users transactions from entering the blockchain. Both of these attacks from a node provider would be easy to spot and would result fairly quickly in destroying the node providers reputation in the community. If they held any positions of importance they would likely be voted out. It is also easy to switch to another node if you suspect something is wrong.
It's important to note that it's NOT possible for the API node provider to access any users private keys, funds, or other personal information(other than ip address). A wallet provider could though, by injecting malicious java script so if you use a web-wallet you are trusting them not to do that, but a wallet provider and an API node are different things. Best practice is to use the downloadable wallet and hopefully soon we will have transaction signing apps or offline signing separate from the wallet, so even if the wallet provider was bad they couldn't get your keys. @jesta has developed something like this already for STEEM: https://steemit.com/vessel/@jesta/vessel-0-2-0-interact-with-steem-securely-from-any-website
Hello @xeldal
Thank you for taking the time to explain all this to me in detail.
I have just joined the crypto world about 2 months ago but I have already learned a lot. It is good to see that there are some people who aren't just aiming for the fast benefits but trying to build up something others can benefit from as well.
Of course it is just legit to go for your own benefits as well, hopefully running this nod will help you growing your reputation!
Myself I haven't been looking into Bitshares too much yet, still trying to figure out which coins might be useful for myself or which might be even worth some investment for the future. It's an exiting world I entered, I'm glad there are guys like you who can give me some head ups.
The link about the vessel wallet is also very interesting, I still need to re-read it to fully understand everything.
Thank you again, for taking some time to answering my questions!!