Bitcoin Analytics App

Introduction

This guide outlines the setup process for the Bitcoin Analytics App, a NestJS-based application that imports and analyzes Bitcoin blockchain data using a Bitcoin Core node and stores it in a MySQL database.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (LTS version)
• NestJS CLI
• Bitcoin Core (v0.20.0 or later recommended)
• MySQL (v5.7 or later)

Setup Instructions

1. NestJS Setup

• Install Node.js: Download and install the LTS version from Node.js official website.

• Install NestJS CLI: Open your terminal and run the following command:

  npm i -g @nestjs/cli

• Project Setup: Clone the project repository and install dependencies:

  git clone <your-repository-url>
  cd <project-directory>
  npm install

2. Bitcoin Core Configuration

• Edit Bitcoin Core Config: Locate your bitcoin.conf file and add the following lines to configure the RPC server, enable the transaction index, and adjust the RPC work queue. The bitcoin.conf file is typically found in the Bitcoin data directory.

  server=1
  txindex=1
  rpcuser=<your-rpc-username>
  rpcpassword=<your-rpc-password>
  rpcworkqueue=128
  

• Restart Bitcoin Core: For the changes to take effect, restart your Bitcoin Core node.

3. Linux Configuration

• Increase ulimit: To increase the number of allowable open files for the system, which is beneficial for both Bitcoin Core and the MySQL database, you can use the following command:

  ulimit -n 4096

  It's recommended to add this command to your .bashrc or .bash_profile for persistence across sessions.

4. Environment Configuration

• Configure .env File: Create a .env file in the root of your project directory with the following contents, adjusting values according to your setup:

  DB_HOST=localhost
  DB_PORT=3306
  DB_USER=admin
  DB_PASSWORD=password
  DB_NAME=bitcoin_analytics
  NODE_RPC_URL=http://<your-rpc-user>:<your-rpc-password>@localhost:8332/
  IMPORTBLOCKS=true
  IMPORTEXCHANGERATES=true
  

5. Starting the Rest API

• Run the Application: With your environment configured, you can start the application by running:

  npm run dev:api

  This will start the NestJS server, and the application will begin to import data from your configured Bitcoin Core node into the MySQL database. NOTE: if the IMPORT environment variable is set to true the application

Running locally you can now navigate to http://localhost:3000/api-docs and open swagger page and openapi docs.

6. Starting the Lnd Service

• Run the Application: With your environment configured, you can start the application by running:

  npm run dev:lnd

  This will start the NestJS server, and the application will begin connect to the configured lnd node. This service will be used to collect graph information about the lightning network.

Note

Ensure that your Bitcoin Core node is fully synchronized with the blockchain before starting the import process. Depending on the blockchain size and your system's specifications, synchronization and data import might take some time.