Why doesn't the nanowallet needs to sync the blockchain

Tech Support
#1

Hi I hope someone can explain this to me. The nem nanowallet is not connected with the blockchain right…? Like I didn’t have to sync the blockchain. But how come i can send and receive XEM with it when it’s not connected with the blockchain?

I’m a bit confused because i also have the Ethereum Mist wallet and with that I had to wait before the whole blockchain was synced.

I hope someone can explain why some applications (like Ethereum) force you to sync the blockchain and the nem nanowallet doesn’t.

Thanks!

#2

It’s rather simple. The Nano Wallet is connecting to a Node / SuperNode which is already fully synced.

Which makes it very easy to start with NEM. :slight_smile:

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#3

You don’t need to sync the blockchain because you’re trusting a node to give your client the information you need.
Nano connects to one of a few default nodes that you can choose form. You can also point it to a custom node.
Instead of synching the blockchain itself it simply trusts that those nodes will give it the correct information.

Now yes, those nodes could theoretically not give you the correct information but even so, the evil that can be done that way is very limited. No sensitive information is ever sent over the wire. It’s your client that does the encryption/signing so all the node really does for you is broadcast it to the network. The node also tells you your balance, txs and all these things. A node could provide you with falls information but it couldn’t steal your funds. Electrum works the same way afaik and all clients that don’t synch the chain suffer from this disadvantage.

It’s a balance between security and convenience. There is very little risk involved.

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