Your wallet and your node do different jobs
Key management and transaction validation are separate responsibilities.
The mechanism
A wallet manages the information needed to construct and authorise payments. A full node checks transactions and blocks against network rules. These functions can be combined in one application, but they are not interchangeable. A wallet interface does not by itself tell you who supplied the chain information it displays.
Put it into practice
Draw your setup as three boxes: signing device, wallet interface and source of network data. Ask which box can spend, which can observe addresses and which verifies the rules. That small inventory is more useful than calling the entire arrangement “self-custody” without describing its dependencies. A local node can reduce reliance on somebody else’s chain view, but its operation and connection still need care.
Keep the evidence in view.
bitcoin.org — source & further reading ↗Checked for this edition on 7 October 2026. Examples are illustrative unless stated otherwise. Read our editorial standards.
Another angle.
The less glamorous Bitcoin update that matters to node operators
Bitcoin Core 29.4’s release notes describe a fix for excessive chainstate disk activity.
Where does the change go in a Bitcoin payment?
Why a payment can create an output for the recipient and another for the sender.