This is something I have been thinking. Running a pruned node gives you full proof of what transactions and UTXOs are valid. That means that you actually are not incentivised at all to run an archival node. Am I missing something?
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My incentives to run a non-pruned node are these:
If you are using your node to verify and broadcast your own transactions you need a full node to leverage most electrum server implementations. That's a big incentive.
But you can verify and broadcast transactions with a pruned node.
It is my understanding that you can't use (most) Electrum servers with a pruned node. It requires a full archival node.
AI explanation:
An Electrum server acts as a middleware or a bridge between a Bitcoin full node and a lightweight (SPV) wallet like Electrum, Sparrow, or BlueWallet.
Core Functions
Indexing: A Bitcoin full node (Bitcoin Core) is designed for validating the network, not for searching wallet history. It does not naturally index which addresses belong to you. An Electrum server builds an index of every transaction on the blockchain so it can instantly tell your wallet its balance and history.
Privacy: If you use a lightweight wallet without your own server, you are sharing your transaction history and IP address with a public third-party server. Running your own Electrum server ensures no one else knows which addresses you own.
Resource Efficiency: Lightweight wallets (mobile or desktop) cannot store 600GB+ of blockchain data. The Electrum server handles the heavy storage and computation on a dedicated machine (like a Raspberry Pi or PC), allowing the wallet to remain fast and portable.
Verification: It allows your wallet to verify that the transactions it sees are actually included in a block, using the security of your own full node rather than trusting someone else's.
Define "incentive" in this case.
Because my incentive would not be the same as yours...
Incentive as in a game theory thing. Some benefit that you gain by taking a specific action.
My incentive to use CCs on SN are not the same as yours... same for running a pruned or non-pruned node. Or not running a node at all, because inn some cases you really don't have to run any btc node. So this issue it can't be generalized.