There are alternatives to Tor. One is the Invisible Internet Project (I2P), a fully encrypted private network layer. It uses a distributed network database and encrypted unidirectional tunnels between peers. The biggest difference between Tor and I2P is that Tor is fundamentally a proxy network that offers internet services in a private form, while I2P is fundamentally a sequestered network that offers I2P services only to the I2P network, creating a "network within a network". However, you might just want it as an alternative, so that you're not dependent solely on Tor.
I2P is not currently installed by Bitcoin Standup, as I2P support was recently added in Bitcoin Core. However, this chapter explains how to manually install it.
After working through this chapter, a developer will be able to:
- Run Bitcoin Core as an I2P (Invisible Internet Project) service
Supporting objectives include the ability to:
- Understand the I2P Network
- Learn the difference between Tor and I2P