Bitcoin Core is the canonical way to run Bitcoin
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use Bitcoin Core as our main Bitcoin wallet software for treasury management and blockchain information. Bitcoin is a network of nodes running Bitcoin Core software so if you want to participate in the Bitcoin network, running Bitcoin Core is the recommended way of doing so.
We run it locally as part of our treasury infrastructure.
Pros
- Simple, secure access to the Bitcoin blockchain
- Open source, auditable and solid performance
- Send and receive Bitcoin immediately
Cons
- UX may seem clumsy the first time but it's getting better
- It may take days to download the blockchain depending on your disk and bandwidth speed, but that's by design
- Support for commercial hardware wallets is still missing, and I think they will keep it that way
Return on Investment
- It's free software so ROI is basically exponential
- Our financial team now understands and has access to Bitcoin
- Running Bitcoin Core helps add traction to the network and helps it to get adopted more
Alternatives Considered
Electrum Bitcoin Wallet
Other Software Used
Electrum Bitcoin Wallet