LiquidBox V5

A Bitcoin full node is the device that decides for you which blocks are valid. The LiquidBox V5 brings everything needed for that: an Intel N150 with four cores, 16 GB of DDR5-4800, a 2 TB NVMe SSD and pre-installed Umbrel OS. It connects over 2.5G LAN or Wi-Fi 6E and is operated in a browser – the HDMI 2.1 port is there, but not required.

At 135 × 115 × 36 mm and roughly 470 g the node fits next to the router instead of demanding a server cabinet. In continuous operation it draws about 10 W, so roughly 7.2 kWh a month – about €2 a month at €0.28/kWh for having your own copy of the blockchain verifying around the clock.

What you get from it shows up in unspectacular ways: your wallet asks the node on your network instead of a stranger’s server, nobody sees which addresses interest you, and the state of the blockchain comes from a source you control yourself.

• Verify yourself: every block is checked locally against the consensus rules. You do not have to trust a block explorer or a wallet provider.
• Privacy in everyday use: wallet queries stay on your network instead of landing on a third-party server that reads your addresses.
• Apps through Umbrel: Bitcoin Core and, on top of it, Lightning, BTCPay or monitoring tools are installed through the interface – no command line.
• Built for continuous operation: around 10 W in a case measuring 135 × 115 × 36 mm. The node just runs, without demanding space or attention.

Umbrel OS is the interface on top of Bitcoin Core. You see the sync status, the connections to other nodes and the storage in use without working through configuration files. Apps are installed with a click and updated the same way – which is exactly why many users get along without Linux knowledge.

One app is particularly interesting for solo miners: your own pool on the node that miners on your home network point at. What happens then is summarised in our solo mining guide.

The blockchain grows with every block, and the Umbrel apps store their data alongside it. The 2 TB NVMe SSD takes both without a move being due soon; the 16 GB of DDR5-4800 lets Bitcoin Core and several apps run in parallel. The Intel N150 stays frugal enough for around 10 W.

To start you only need power, a network connection and a browser. The interface is reachable after a few minutes – the first full verification of the blockchain then runs in the background and takes patience.

For Bitcoiners who want to point their wallet at their own node. For homelab users trying Lightning or BTCPay without building a server. And for solo miners who would rather run the pool on their own network than at a provider.

It is less of a fit if you actually want to mine: the LiquidBox does not compute on blocks and has no hash rate. For that you also need a miner – the Bitaxe Gamma, for example. Which devices make sense at home is sorted out in the overview buy a Bitcoin miner.

Delivered are the node, the 19V power supply and a quick start guide. From you come a network port, a socket and any device with a browser for the setup. Keyboard and monitor are not needed.

A spot with some air around it and a power supply that is not constantly interrupted make sense. After a power cut the node resumes the sync where it left off.

The node is the foundation. For many the next step is their own hash rate pointed at the pool on their own node.

• Sovereign Stack V1: the same node together with a Bitaxe Gamma as a solo miner.
• Sovereign Stack V2: the same node with a Nerdaxe Gamma and a larger display.
• Bitcoin miners on their own, if the node is already in place and only hash rate is missing.

If you want to use Bitcoin through your own verification rather than someone else’s servers, the LiquidBox V5 is the direct route: finished hardware, open software, around 10 W in continuous operation and all data on your own network.