Features of the Casa Node

Update: Casa Node software is no longer maintained; we recommend looking at other build-your-own node projects.

Autopilot, Channel Names, Verify from Scratch and more.

A little over a week ago we announced the Casa Node — a plug-and-play full node for Bitcoin and Lightning in an elegant design.

We sold out of the first batch in just one hour, and the second batch by the end of the first day of sales!

Today we’re sharing five features of the Casa Node made to bring you greater control and privacy while retaining a smooth plug-and-play experience.

Feature #1 — Use Autopilot or Manual Channels

It’s hard to strike a balance between full control and ease of use.

Some Lightning wallets today preload a set of channels for users. This is a feature known as Autopilot.

Autopilot makes it easier for you to get connected to the network and start making and receiving payments, but it doesn’t give you precise control over your connection to the Lightning Network.

Casa Node can use Autopilot, but also has a manual mode that gives you precise control of how many channels are opened, who you connect to, and how much BTC each channel holds.

Feature #2 — Receive Lightning Payments

Most Lightning wallets out there don’t let you receive payments at this time.

This is because those wallets aren’t online 24/7, which makes them vulnerable to attacks when receiving payments (more on this in a Crypto 101 on Lightning — coming soon).

The Casa Node, on the other hand, is designed to be online all the time, ensuring safety of your Lightning funds.

Similar to a home router, the Casa Node will auto reboot if there are power interruptions. The Node is working its magic in the background, so you don’t have to!

As long as there is power and an internet connection, you’ll get to send and receive Bitcoin payments at the speed of Lightning, from the comfort of your own home.

Feature #3 — Private Names for Any Channel

While experimenting with Lightning, we would occasionally forget why we created certain channels.

We’ve solved this problem by adding a “Channel Purpose” feature, which privately adds a name to any channel so that you can keep better track.

Channel Purpose data lives only on your Casa Node. It is never shared with anyone, retaining your full privacy.

Feature #4 — Validate From Scratch

Today, the Casa Node comes preloaded with a full copy of the Bitcoin blockchain. Casa has validated this copy up to the most recent blocks, saving you time and bandwidth when first setting up your Casa Node.

We understand, however, that some users want to verify the full Bitcoin history themselves. At Casa, our highest mission is to maximize personal sovereignty and safety, so making this independent validation possible and easy is essential.

To that end, we added a ‘Validate from Scratch’ feature. One click and your Casa Node will begin a full download and validation of Bitcoin’s history from scratch.

This could take over a month to sync from the genesis block, but that doesn’t matter for some of our clients.

The Raspberry Pi’s CPU is the bottleneck here, when verifying the transaction history. This is why it only takes a few days on a full PC, but much longer on the Pi.

Once up to date, it takes it about a minute to process a new block. On average blocks come every 10 minutes, so the Casa Node will keep up just fine.

That is the main reason we preload the Casa nodes with a full, up to date copy of Bitcoin.

We are actively looking for ways to provide a faster chain sync on your Casa Node, without relying on Casa. One option might be a tool to import blockchain data that you have already verified, on a faster machine you own.

Feature #5 — Node Nicknames

The last feature we’d like to mention is the Node Nickname.

We made it easy for you to set the public name of your Lightning Node, so you can tell the world!

This is an optional feature and you can type anything you want. . .

Do you want a Casa Node?

Good news!

If you are a Casa client, you receive a Casa Node as part of your membership!

Not a Casa client yet?

That’s ok! We’re taking preorders for our next batch. You can pay with Bitcoin or credit card!

We’re excited to bring easy Lightning Network access to everyone!

Build with the Best

Want to join the Casa team?

From design to engineering to client service — Casa has assembled the best team in the industry. We can’t wait to announce more in the coming weeks!

Ready to build with us?

Email us at jobs@team.casa