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2023 UPDATE:
Editor's Update: Best masternodes to Invest in 2023
Richard Knight
There are many ways to profit within the cryptocurrency space and one of the oldest passive income opportunities is through the use of masternodes.
Masternodes offer an opportunity for investors to earn daily passive income by contributing computing power that is used to power the blockchain. In return for operating a masternode, the operator is rewarded with the native currency.
There are many different ways in which masternodes operate, such as verifying new blocks of the blockchain or helping with the anonymization of transactions (privacy coins).
While the exact function of the masternode for a particular cryptocurrency may be slightly different, all masternodes require a minimum collateral investment as well as the setup and configuration of a cloud server (which does the processing).
While masternodes do require additional technical setup and configuration (when compared to just buying and holding crypto), once a masternode is up and running, there is typically very minimal additional effort required to keep it running indefinitely.
For those interested in acquiring a masternode, it’s important to note that masternodes should be seen as a long-term investment. If you are able to buy early into a solid project, these masternodes can potentially offer a life-long source of passive income.
Guide to Investing in Masternodes:
Check out our guide to investing in Masternodes:
Richard Knight
Top 5 Masternode Projects for Passive Income
There are literally hundreds of masternode projects and at last count, there are over 330 active cryptocurrency projects offering masternodes. This list is our selection of the top masternode projects (at the time of publication) with the greatest passive income growth potential for 2022.
Syscoin (SYS) #154
One of the more expensive masternodes is a project by the name of Syscoin. Syscoin is a layer one blockchain (an earlier fork of Bitcoin) and includes smart contracts (think ETH + Bitcoin).
While this masternode is way beyond the budget of most investors, it is a great example of the income potential available with a masternode. Back in early 2020, this coin has a market price of under two cents and a masternode could have been purchased for less than $2,000!
Today, this masternode costs over $60,000 and generates over $4,000 of yearly income. This layer one blockchain will likely reach a top 100 cryptocurrency ranking within the near term and even though its masternode is highly-priced, will likely continue to yield significant income for the long term.
ROI: 7% | Masternode Price: $62,000 (100k x $0.62)
Horizon (ZEN) #127
Horizon is a privacy-focused blockchain that is a fork of ZClassic which was itself a fork of Zcash. The Horizon project launched in May 2017 (formerly known as ZenCash). The goal of the project is to create a privacy ecosystem offering more than just private transactions.
The Horizen network has become an ecosystem that includes a DAO, private messenger (ZenChat), anonymous publishing platform (ZenPub) and TOR-like domain fronting service (ZenHide).
Horizon offers two methods to contribute to their network with the use of nodes, a secure node that requires 42 ZEN or a supernode that requires 500 ZEN and each of these nodes calculates earnings differently.
Horizon claims to offer the best-in-class tools for developers to custom-build private or public blockchains and the fast-growing network of blockchains.
ROI: 8% | Secure Node Price: $1,760 (42 x $42)
ROI: 6% | Super Node Price: $21,000 (500 x $42)
Energi (NRG) #678
My favorite on this list is the privacy-centric web 3.0 gem of a project first started in 2017. The Energi ecosystem has many features that most crypto projects don’t have including a secure Decentralized Exchange (DEX) and yield farming pools that offer high-yield returns. The project also claims to be the most secure cryptocurrency network in the industry. Its also worth noting, that as part of its smart contract platform, the Energi team is planning on launching an NFT marketplace in the near future.
With a market capitalization of over forty million and a daily volume of almost half a million dollars, the Energi network has a solid foundation to grow its network and reputation within the DeFi and NFT space.
Currently, Energi is being marketed as the safest blockchain for DeFi and NFTs and as the market demand grows for both DeFi and NFTs, likely so will Energi.
In addition to the very affordable masternodes, Energi also offers staking.
ROI: 10% | Masternode Price: $810 (1k x $0.81)
Stakenet (XSN) #1459
Stakenet is another Web 3.0 project built to facilitate a trustless and decentralized network. It is integrated with lightning and connext networks which allow for the development of dApps like a Layer 3 DEX.
This project has been around for more than four years and has experienced its growing pains. Of particular interest is the project's recent development of its decentralized exchange (DEX) which would be an excellent addition to its stack.
This is one of the lowest-priced masternodes on this list with a price of just over $300 and a current return of income of over 100%.
ROI: 125% | Masternode Price: $316 (15k x $0.02)
PRCY Coin (PRCY) #1510
Launched in January of 2021, the PRCY coin is a fully anonymous blockchain-based cryptocurrency that offers private, secure, and scalable transactions. Future developments on their roadmap include private smart contracts and the handling of NFTs on the coin.
While the PRCY project is still relatively new its masternodes are still available at an affordable price (doubling in the last month). The project is currently trading at $0.20 and in the past, it had seen prices of almost $3 per coin.
With the upcoming release of private smart contracts and NFTs, there is a lot of future potential for this project.
ROI: 35% | Masternode Price: $1,000 (5k x $0.2)
Should You Invest in a Masternode?
Investing in a masternode should be considered a long-term investment as masternodes require an initial setup and configuration of the masternode server as well as a (typically) significant amount of collateral to run the node.
For most masternodes, there is a technical component where the masternode needs to be configured and hosted and the time and cost of this setup need to be taken into your calculations. Fortunately, it is now easier than ever to set up masternodes as there are many third-party providers which can take care of the setup, such as Allnodes, Evonodes, MyMasternodes, NodeHub and many more.
