At the core of the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network are the full network nodes that function as critical part of the Bitcoin infrastructure. These nodes are solely responsible in ensuring the transactions and blocks are trickled down the network in a timely manner.

The number of these nodes and their network related metrics were largely unknown as of recently despite the existence of Bitcoin since early 2009. The lack of such data in the public domain motivated the launch of the Bitnodes Project in April 2013.

The ongoing effort in the development of the project is driven by the emerging needs to gather statistical summary of the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network and supported by the Bitcoin Foundation. Every quarter, I’ll provide a report of my progress and invite you to submit suggestions for improvement as well as stories on how this has been helpful to you.

Bitnodes Project 2014 Q2 Report