network – How to configure port forwarding to run a full node with Bitcoin Core using a VPN instead of setting up port forwarding on the router?

I’m running a full node with Bitcoin Core, but ISP blocking prevents incoming connections and my router’s port forwarding doesn’t take effect.

I created a VPN from the Proton VPN service and use OpenVPN to extend the features of the free plan.

Now that the VPN is working, I use a different IP as my public IP. The VPN IP is detected by Bitnode and since we are using a Linux operating system, we use iptables to create port forwarding rules.

I use the following command:

$ sudo iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp -i (interface-name) --dport 8333 -j DNAT --to-destination (IP):8333
$ sudo iptables -A FORWARD -p tcp -d (IP) --dport 8333 -m state --state NEW,ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT

Has anyone set up a full node for incoming connections in this scenario?

Which IP should I use for that command? This must be a VPN IP. Yes?

And the interface name uses that NAT adapter.

I believe the problem is the iptables rules as incoming connections are still blocked. But I want to make sure it’s a valid scenario. Use a VPN instead of a router to do port forwarding.