Setup TOR

Install TOR via apt:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install tor

Enable and start TOR:

sudo systemctl enable tor
sudo systemctl start tor
sudo systemctl status tor

Setup Pruned Node

Go to https://bitcoincore.org/en/download/ and copy link of latest version

wget https://bitcoincore.org/bin/bitcoin-core-29.2/bitcoin-29.2-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz
tar -xvf bitcoin-29.2-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz
sudo install -m 0755 -o root -g root -t /usr/local/bin bitcoin-29.2/bin/*

Create Bitcoin core config

mkdir -p ~/.bitcoin
vim ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf

Add the following into the file

### PRUNED NODE ###
prune=550           # ~5.5 GB (minimum)
txindex=0
 
### RPC ###
server=1
rpcbind=127.0.0.1
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
 
### TOR-ONLY NETWORKING ###
proxy=127.0.0.1:9050
onlynet=onion
listen=1
dnsseed=0
 
### TOR CONTROL (optional but recommended) ###
torcontrol=127.0.0.1:9051
torpassword=your_tor_control_password
 
### PRIVACY ###
listenonion=1
discover=0
upnp=0
natpmp=0
 
### PERFORMANCE ###
dbcache=300
maxconnections=12

Start the node:

bitcoind -daemon

Check status:

bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo

you should see:

"pruned": true

Check Tor usage:

bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo

Look for:

"network": "onion"

Run at Boot with Systemd

stop manually running bitcoind

bitcoin-cli stop

Create new systemd file:

sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/bitcoind.service

add the following

[Unit]
Description=Bitcoin Daemon
After=network.target
 
[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/bitcoind -daemon -conf=/root/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf
ExecStop=/usr/local/bin/bitcoin-cli stop
User=root
Type=forking
Restart=always
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reload

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable bitcoind
sudo systemctl start bitcoind

Verify Everything is Working

bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo
bitcoin-cli getpeerinfo
bitcoin-cli getmempoolinfo

Create Wallet

bitcoin-cli createwallet "marcus-chiu-wallet"

Check if wallet is loaded:

bitcoin-cli getwalletinfo

Backup Wallet

bitcoin-cli backupwallet ~/wallet-backup.dat

Load an Existing Wallet

bitcoin-cli loadwallet ~/wallet-backup.dat

List Wallets

bitcoin-cli listwallets