As much as I am knowledgeable about the cryptocurrency space there is still a lot I don’t know about it. There’s also a lot that I am aware of, but never got around to working on. One such thing happens to be masternodes. Now that I’ve got some time, I’m looking more into this.
A masternode is simply a cryptocurrency full node or computer wallet that keeps the full copy of the blockchain in real-time. It performs tasks such as increasing privacy, doing instant transactions and participating in governance.
I learn through doing things, so I decided to set one up after seeing that the Netbox initiative offers one.
Is this the right masternode to try out first? – I don’t know, but we’ll see how it goes.
Netbox Masternode
Masternodes Online is a great resource that gives information around masternode projects with respect to return on investment, number of nodes, number of required coins, etc.
To setup a Netbox masternode you need 10,000 NBX tokens and a server to run the node.
The server can either be :
- hosted on a cloud server. The Netbox documentation mentions vultr.com or
- use Flits which is a decentralized mobile masternode app.
I decided to use the app because it’s convenient, the private are keys stored with me, and I didn’t have to configure a server. I do have a technology background, so I could have set up the server on Vultr, but I’m lazy so the mobile Flits spared me the hassle. The cost is also cheaper on the Flits app at €1.99 ($2.16) per month compared to the cloud server option at $3.50, so that was another advantage.
The biggest hassle was acquiring the 10,000 NBX from an exchange. I really really dislike working with exchanges. I already had a couple of NBX tokens because I browse the web with the NetBox browser and it rewards me in Netbox Tokens. It also allows me to stake the tokens so I was earning more.
However exchanges give you the usual hassle of having to do KYC, AML, upload your selfie, blah, blah. Then you can never get the tokens for the price you want. Granted I’m clueless when it comes to trading on exchanges so I do find it confusing, but finally I did acquire the required amount of tokens and the it took a day to get it out. I know crazy!!
Flits was the easiest part of this entire process. Within a couple of taps you can deploy a masternode once you have added the required amount of tokens and the €1.99 ($2.16) fee for the FLITS service. The fee can be paid in either the FLITS token or Bitcoin.
Currently the masternode is running and has started paying out tokens. The ROI for a NetBox masternode is 48.33%.
I suspect I got into this later than I should have. Will this be successful?? Who knows. Probably not I suspect.
However, Netbox is a sweet project. I like what they’ve done with their browser; the fact that you can stake coins directly from the browser, earn while you browse and they’re launching a series of products is all very cool.
I’m now starting to see how blockchain is becoming functional and providing utility – and I like that. More and more it’s fulfilling the promise of major disruption and it’s happening before our eyes.
Why should we use Chrome when we could use Brave and Netbox and get rewarded? Why should we use the dollar when DAI will suffice, why should we use tech that doesn’t benefit everyone else.
I’ve made the start with the masternodes. It was easy enough and we’ll see how it goes.
Photo by Ian Battaglia on Unsplash
Jae Subramoney 
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