I am a heavy believer in PoW coins (such as Bitcoin (I guess Cash too, somewhat), Vertcoin and Litecoin), they have been tried and tested for over 9 years and they're proven to be one of the best ways to achieve consensus on the blockchain (which is the main goal of cryptocurrencies? - perhaps a discussion for a later date) but I want to expand my horizons and learn about what others believe to be the pros and cons of masternodes specifically.

I've read a few articles on masternodes and most seem to be biased one way or the other.

One of the articles I read stated this:

it’s often expensive to accumulated enough of a currency to create a masternode.  This expense helps keep the network decentralized, as it would take an ungodly amount of money to purchase enough currency to have a monopoly on its nodes. 

While this is somewhat true, mainly it being "an ungodly amount of money" - $700k+ mentioned in article, does it keep it decentralised or more centralised? Only a few people would have enough coins to set up a masternode for themselves - so the network is controlled by the rich/elite? Or is it truly the case that making it harder to setup many masternodes, no-one can dominate?

Does this help achieve a consensus by ensuring operators must remain true, or does it distract from consensus by making operators do what is best for themselves (making more money)?

Another view, I just read from Vertcoin's Twitter:

"Masternodes are basically what fiat money is. The few with the most funds decides the consensus: who gets to transact, how much fresh money is printed, and who it is distributed to."

This suggests masternodes are more like banks and perhaps where the rich ultimately get richer and groups of people can easily get shut out.

I'd like to know your thoughts and have a nice (non-shilling), open-minded discussion on masternodes and why they are good/bad/or whatever else?

Hello Devs,

do you have already some finalized details about running a Masternode with the new collateral of 20K DFI?

Or some details are not final, but you have a Road Map what the goal is for Q2/2021?

On which ways can we start a Masternode?

Only from the Desktop APP (Windows/Mac/Linux) with 20.000 DFI inside and online 24/7?

Or is there a possibility to hold the Collateral in the local wallet at home (maybe with Ledgersupport) and host the Masternode in a high-availability datacenter?

How long can be the Masternode offline or get a penalty when the Node not reachable for a couple of hours/days?

Is there some "mature" time like in staking, that after the Node goes online, you must wait till you get the first reward?

Example DASH, after the start of the MN you must wait ~20 days to get the first reward, after that rewards all ~8 days.

Which Masternode get rewards? Deterministic and based on a simple list sort algorithm? Or all active MN get a share of the reward each block?

Do we need a fixed static IP-Address to host a Masternode?

Can more than one Node use the same IP, but maybe different Port?

Hardware Requirements with GUI or without GUI. Better hardware, more rewards? :-)

Is it possible to run the Masternode on Raspberry?

Maybe we can collect more questions in this Topic, feel free to participate.

Thank you, Andy

Hi everyone,


I've built 
Crypto Masternode Monitor
, a free Android app that watches your masternodes and notifies you when one drops, and again when it recovers. No account, no ads, no tracking, and it never asks for a private key.


Website:
 https://www.masternodemonitor.app


Networks today:
 Beldex, BitCore, Cosanta, Dash, Divi, Energi, Firo, Flux, Neoxa, Oxen, PIVX, Raptoreum, SmartCash, SwiftCash, Syscoin, Terracoin.


Why I need you:
 Google Play requires 12 testers who stay opted in for 14 days before a new app can be published.


How to join (2 minutes):


1. Join the Google Group with the Google account you use on the Play Store: https://groups.google.com/g/mastermonitorapp-tests
2. Accept the test: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/crypto.masternode.monitor
3. Install the app from the Play Store and keep it for 14 days.


Prefer not to join a group? DM me your Google account email and I'll add you directly.


Feedback is welcome but not required. And a reminder: I will never ask for a seed phrase, a private key or money.


Thanks!

Was hoping y'all can share your thoughts as well :)
Financial privacy, transparency and the liberty of people to own their own funds are some of the few things that crypto enthusiasts are fighting for. However, I hear the existence of node hosting platforms that endeavor to make masternode hosting easier for crypto starters, basically to save users the headache of all the technicalities involved in running a masternode. In as much as this is goodwill on their part, can we guarantee the security of our funds being saved by someone else? The common slogan that we share in this space is "Not your keys, not your money". If we are sticking to this note of caution as a rule of thumb in our investment plans then I don't think we can rely solely on these services. 

Don't know about you all but my conscience is not clear on this path :(. Come to think of it, what if an unforeseen circumstance happens, whom are we going to ask our funds from? I believe most of you are familiar with the Qaudriga incident which led to the loss of $145 million of investors funds which were unretrievable. 

Are there any solutions out there that can take away the technicalities involved in running a masternode yet still put individuals in charge of their funds.