https://etherscan.io/chartsync/chaindefault
There's a difference between a full node and an archive node. A full node has all the data required to verify the chain from genesis up to the current state. An archive node also has all the state of all previous blocks. An archive node can be derived from a full node, and the only purpose of an archive node is to run historical queries.
You can run a full node without staking ETH, in which case there are no penalties for going offline. (And if you are staking, you can be offline up to a third of the time and still be profitable.)
There are efforts underway to shrink storage requirements, including very secure light clients, state expiration, and statelessness. But right now that stuff is mostly on the back burner while they focus on the proof-of-stake migration.
This is healthy skepticism, these are things the crypto community would write in jest, on twitter. For the most part this is a massive exaggeration lol.
> how many people are actually able to do this
Not many, but a rapidly growing number of people are. Its more of a consumer protection problem and people are getting better at it.
> I'm not against crypto and i'm not sure yet about web3 but if it requires buying some kind of token to participate then i am skeptical.
There are certainly node based projects like that. Some are interesting, some should be avoided, some use tokens as a prerequisite for access, some don't, some are articulately explained and have free testnets you can simulate things on. Its up to the individual or team that created the project.
Lazy, low effort, inaccurate comment. A validator node is <$500 of hardware. A 2TB SSD will be enough for years.
> how many people are actually able to do this
How many people are able to inspect the code running on their machine? I don't really buy this line of argument. Humans are social animals. Information about what software (on or offchain) is safe tends to propagate naturally.
yeah just buy an 86TB drive every year and run the node 24/7 to avoid penalties
>You should inspect their smart contracts
how many people are actually able to do this
I'm not against crypto and i'm not sure yet about web3 but if it requires buying some kind of token to participate then i am skeptical.