<p>Syncing with Bitcoin Core (bitcoind) is efficient and secure so that is the recommended way to obtain the <code>blk*.dat</code> files. The <code>blk*.dat</code> format is specific to Bitcoin Core, so you can't use other implementations (like btcd) to do so.</p>
<p>If you only want to collect the data without verifying the blocks for validity, you can set the <code>-assumevalid=&lt;hex&gt;</code> argument to a recent block so that the entire chain up until that point is assumed to be valid (as the name suggests).</p>
<p>What's more, you can use the <code>-blocksonly</code> parameter to ignore transactions from peers that aren't in blocks, so your node will focus only on the blocks themselves.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-20T07:01:13.453Z
Per my understanding, bitcoind is pretty heavy and cost many resources, is there any lightweight solution?
Carpemer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-20T07:27:49.203Z
@Carpemer I've added some flags to the answer that might help achieve what you are looking for. Of course downloading the blockchain will still be time consuming and require a lot of bandwidth because of its size, but there is no way to avoid that if you want to download the whole thing.
meshcollider
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-20T07:29:13.840Z
Thanks, that is exact what I need!
Carpemer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-06T23:27:50.183Z
Added 
assumevalid=00000000000000000002b276368619e6867fb285b02162df27eb85c08189776b into the conf file, the speed seems don't have very big change.
Carpemer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-07T04:02:38.747Z
Is your download speed fast? Remember you are still downloading around 380 GB.
meshcollider
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-07T23:55:07.400Z
I use 500M network, what is the expectation in general case?
Carpemer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-08T05:40:24.713Z
Depends on your computer specs too. You can increase speed further using `-dbcache=4000` (or as high as you like based on the amount of memory) startup parameter.
meshcollider
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-20T06:25:59.877Z
2021-12-20T07:23:20.533Z
2021-12-20T07:23:20.533Z
meshcollider
<p>The purpose is to sync the all the blk data into local computer for analyzing.</p>
<p>Is that possible to sync data (blk.dat) only with bitcoind?</p>
<p>Or is there any other solution available?</p>

<bitcoind><block>
Sync data (blk.dat) only with bitcoind
Carpemer
# Sync data (blk.dat) only with bitcoind

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-12-19)

The purpose is to sync the all the blk data into local computer for analyzing.

Is that possible to sync data (blk.dat) only with bitcoind?

Or is there any other solution available?

**Tags:** bitcoind, block


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-12-20. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Syncing with Bitcoin Core (bitcoind) is efficient and secure so that is the recommended way to obtain the `blk*.dat` files. The `blk*.dat` format is specific to Bitcoin Core, so you can't use other implementations (like btcd) to do so.

If you only want to collect the data without verifying the blocks for validity, you can set the `-assumevalid=` argument to a recent block so that the entire chain up until that point is assumed to be valid (as the name suggests).

What's more, you can use the `-blocksonly` parameter to ignore transactions from peers that aren't in blocks, so your node will focus only on the blocks themselves.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Per my understanding, bitcoind is pretty heavy and cost many resources, is there any lightweight solution?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 I've added some flags to the answer that might help achieve what you are looking for. Of course downloading the blockchain will still be time consuming and require a lot of bandwidth because of its size, but there is no way to avoid that if you want to download the whole thing.  
> **username_0**: Thanks, that is exact what I need!  
> **username_0**: Added  assumevalid=00000000000000000002b276368619e6867fb285b02162df27eb85c08189776b into the conf file, the speed seems don't have very big change.  
> **username_1**: Is your download speed fast? Remember you are still downloading around 380 GB.  
> **username_0**: I use 500M network, what is the expectation in general case?  
> **username_1**: Depends on your computer specs too. You can increase speed further using `-dbcache=4000` (or as high as you like based on the amount of memory) startup parameter.  

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