What is a Kaspa Accepted Transactions Archival Node (ATAN)?

An Accepted Transactions Archival Node (ATAN) is a proposed Kaspa node type that stores only accepted transaction data and their ordering — not the full block structure or DAG. Standard Kaspa nodes prune (delete) old block data after a set window to stay lean, but this creates a gap for layer 2 networks that need a reliable transaction history. An ATAN fills that gap by continuously listening as blocks are confirmed and extracting just the transaction records needed, without archiving everything else. For beginners, this matters because it shows how Kaspa's design can support advanced layer 2 applications while keeping the base layer storage requirements manageable.