Nodl One review: a hand-built node with an encrypted SSD

Nodl sells pre-built Bitcoin nodes and ships them from the EU. The Nodl One Mark 2 is its entry model: a Rockpi 4 board with the RK3399 processor and a 2 TB Samsung SSD, hand-assembled and built to order. Its comparison page lists 4 GB of LPDDR4 memory, a 16 or 32 GB eMMC chip for the system, and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS as the base OS.

The box ships with Bitcoin Core, LND, BTCPay Server, Electrum Rust Server (electrs), Ride the Lightning, BTC RPC Explorer, Lightning Terminal, Dojo, and Tor, all managed from the nodl web interface. Nodl's product page describes the nodl software as fully open source under the MIT license.

The software list has no Core Lightning. If you want Core Lightning instead of LND, look at Umbrel, Start9, or RaspiBlitz.

Two hardware choices set the Nodl apart. The SSD uses full disk encryption, and the case has a kill switch. Nodl's FAQ says the kill switch is triggered when someone opens the case and exists to slow down an attacker trying to read the memory. The comparison page adds that it cuts power if the device is tampered with, and the node then needs the encryption password to start again.

That protects the node's own data, such as Lightning channel state and BTCPay records, if the box is stolen. It does not protect your savings, which belong on a hardware wallet whatever node you run.

The Nodl One suits a European buyer who wants a plug-in Lightning node with encryption at rest, prefers to pay in bitcoin, and is happy with LND. Nodl's store takes bitcoin on-chain or over Lightning, plus card payments in dollars or euros.

Pick something else if you want an app store beyond Bitcoin and Lightning, more memory for other services, or a box that ships this week. The Umbrel Home has 16 GB of RAM and a store of more than 300 apps, and the Start9 Server One runs an MIT-licensed system with a year of support.

Nodl sells only in euros. The Nodl One Mark 2 costs €599 excluding tax, or €799 with setup support, and both versions are listed as available on backorder today. Built-to-order units need 10 to 15 business days before they ship from the EU, and DHL charges are calculated at checkout.

Nodl says it keeps the box synced until it ships, according to its quick start guide, so on arrival it only catches up on the blocks since it left the workshop. That saves days of initial sync on a small ARM board.

Setup is short because the box arrives configured. For the current steps, follow Nodl's quick start guide. In outline:

Nodl's wallet guide covers Sparrow and BlueWallet. It recommends connecting through electrs, either on your local network or over Tor using the Nodl's onion address, and Sparrow can also talk to Bitcoin Core directly. Either way your wallet stops sending your addresses to a public server. My Sparrow review and Electrs vs Fulcrum cover the wallet side.

Updates are one click. Nodl's guide says you press the schedule install button and the box fetches and installs the new software itself. That same page carries a warning that it is an old version pending a rewrite, and the wallet guide lists app versions from several years ago, such as Sparrow 1.6.7. The documentation has not kept pace with the product.

I could not check the software's code. Nodl's public GitLab shows the documentation and an SSD upgrade project, and no public repository for the nodl software itself. I found no published security advisories from Nodl. Without the source or release notes, I cannot tell you which Bitcoin Core or kernel version a Nodl runs today, so check the version at the bottom of the Nodl home screen and run the update after delivery.

Nodl also sells the Nodl Two at €799 before tax, with two mirrored 2 TB SSDs and up to 32 GB of memory, and the Nodl Onyx Founders' Edition. I have not rated either. The older Nodl Dojo is off my rankings and Nodl lists it as out of stock, as my Bitcoin node page explains.

The Nodl One Mark 2 combines an encrypted SSD, a tamper switch, a presynced chain, and checkout in bitcoin. If those matter to you and LND is your Lightning implementation, it is a reasonable European buy.

For most people the 4 GB board, the backorder, and the thin public record on its software point to the Umbrel Home or the Start9 Server One instead, or to MyNode's Model Two for a lower price.