<p>Bitcoin-QT is slower than Multibit because Bitcoin-QT is a thick client(it downloads the entire blockchain,) whereas Multibit is a thin client(it does not download the full blockchain.)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-11T17:38:51.287Z
Are there benefits of a thick client?
jobukkit
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-11T20:22:12.090Z
Thin clients do not validate transactions, they just assume that the longest blockchain only has valid transactions. Furthermore, thin clients do not help the network. Instead, they rely on full nodes (like Bitcoin-Qt) to do the heavy lifting.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-19T20:24:36.777Z
It doesn't; it only learns about transactions in blocks made since it was first started(unless you import an older address, in which case it downloads the entire blockchain.)
DrAwesome
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-05T20:22:36.527Z
If multibit doesn't download the full blockchain, how does it learn about transactions in blocks it hasn't seen?
Florian Bösch
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-11T15:44:13.647Z
2013-06-11T15:44:13.647Z
DrAwesome
<p>Bitcoin-QT: Very long startup and at first launch needs to download the entire blockchain</p>

<p>Multibit: Starts up in a few seconds and downloads for only a few seconds</p>

<p>Why is Bitcoin-QT so slow?</p>

<bitcoin-core><multibit>
Why is bitcoin-qt startup so slow compared to MultiBit
jobukkit
# Why is bitcoin-qt startup so slow compared to MultiBit

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-06-11)

Bitcoin-QT: Very long startup and at first launch needs to download the entire blockchain

Multibit: Starts up in a few seconds and downloads for only a few seconds

Why is Bitcoin-QT so slow?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, multibit


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-06-11. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Bitcoin-QT is slower than Multibit because Bitcoin-QT is a thick client(it downloads the entire blockchain,) whereas Multibit is a thin client(it does not download the full blockchain.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Are there benefits of a thick client?  
> **username_2**: Thin clients do not validate transactions, they just assume that the longest blockchain only has valid transactions. Furthermore, thin clients do not help the network. Instead, they rely on full nodes (like Bitcoin-Qt) to do the heavy lifting.  
> **username_3**: If multibit doesn't download the full blockchain, how does it learn about transactions in blocks it hasn't seen?  
> **username_1**: It doesn't; it only learns about transactions in blocks made since it was first started(unless you import an older address, in which case it downloads the entire blockchain.)  

---

