Dash

Dash was the first cryptocurrency to implement a master node system, one of the features that Evan Duffield, who invented Dash, created in response to failings he perceived with Bitcoin’s lack of a good governance system.

With Dash’s current pricing, a master node is a very serious investment, as the required 1,000 Dash stake is currently worth about US$250,000. At one point at the end of 2017, Dash reached over US$1,000, meaning it would have cost over a million dollars to set up a master node.

Master nodes split 45% of the block reward, which works out to be just a little less than 7 Dash per month, which is a very respectable amount. Every 380 days, the block reward is reduced by a bit over 7%, which is nothing in the long run, assuming Dash goes up in value, shouldn’t impact long-term prospects too adversely.

Over and above the serious financial commitment, setting up a Dash master node involves a reasonable amount of technical know-how, as it involves having a virtual private server and editing configuration files.

Online guides exist to help walk you through the process—but be prepared, they are not simple. Also, warnings abound that you will have to commit a fair amount of maintenance to keep your master node up to date and operating properly. If you want help, services exist to try and do the hard work for you. For a price, of course.

PIVX

PIVX is a project that aims to be a global currency; claiming faster transactions, more privacy, and better security than previous tokens. The token is PIV, and while there is a total supply of 55 million, over 20 million of those coins are staked in wallets and master nodes, making the effective circulating supply something under 30 million.

A PIVX master node requires that you stake 10,000 PIV, which at current prices means an investment of a little under US$20,000.

A PIVX master node gives an ROI of about 5.74% annually, so at current prices, that’s approximately US$1,000. On its own, this might not be a hugely compelling return, but if you believe in the future of the PIVX project, your returns would be higher as the coins you are receiving should themselves go up in value.

In order to run your own DIY PIXV master node, your server needs to be running either Linux or Raspberry Pi, and it needs to have a unique IP address on the internet. This means you will not likely be able to use your regular computer at home and simply leave it on, as most internet service providers assign different IP addresses to home users as needed.

If you understand how to establish a stable, unique IP address for your server, then you’re probably able to attempt setting up a PIVX master node. Otherwise, you might want to look into services that help set it up for you.

Blocknet

Blocknet aspires to be a decentralized exchange, with underlying blockchain technology for facilitating transactions between tokens without any financial entity that buys and sells as an intermediary.

It takes 5,000 BLOCK, the Blocknet token, to set up a masternode. At this time, that’s a US$65,000 investment.

Total annual return is estimated to be between 7% to 13%, and then that return is split with 70% going to masternodes, and the remaining 30% to simple stakers. In short, masternodes might be able to expect between 5% to 9% on their investment after a year, which, at current prices would be between US$3,250 and US$5,859.

Setting up your own Blocknet masternode, which they call “service nodes”, can be accomplished with software resources accessed from their official Github page. Documentation is targeted at the very technically-minded, and online resources for describing the process in more layman’s terms is scant, if available at all.

In other words, you should only look into running a Blocknet masternode if you feel very capable of handling the technical challenges. There are mentions online of paid services to assist you—however, none could be verified with certainty for their reliability, so it’s recommended that you do sufficient due diligence before opting to pay someone to set up a masternode for you.

Stakenet

Stakenet is the new name for PoSW, which completed a token swap on May 1. The token name is now XSN, and, like Blocknet, Stakenet aspires to be a decentralized exchange.

The buy-in for a Stakenet masternode is 15,000 XSN, or US$7,800 at today’s prices. With a generous 44% return on the initial investment, the expected return is about US$3,500 for now.

Assuming you get familiar with Stakenet wallets and the system in general, setting up a masternode does not seem overly complex, with a step-by-step guide provided on their Medium blog. Like any masternode setup, one should be comfortable with software configuration and some network administration, but, as compared to others, they seem to have made the effort to make the process straightforward.

Zcoin

Zcoin aspires to be a global currency, with privacy at the center of its offering. With a protocol they call “Zerocoin”, coins can be “minted” into private coins with fully anonymous transactions.

It takes 1,000 XZC to buy in on a Zcoin masternode, which is currently about US$15,000. Annually, you should get roughly 28% ROI, which translates to US$4,200 at today’s market price.

Zcoin refers to their masternodes as “Znodes”, and a guide for setting one up is made readily available on their website. Their software is available on Linux, and they state that you should be proficient in the use of Putty and the command line.