As many of you may know, certain cryptocurrencies can provide passive income. While some of them can be staked (powered-up) through a user’s wallet, most other cryptocurrencies that issue a passive Crypto income require users to manage and set up their own servers.

Typically, a node that is able to gain passive income is termed as a Masternode. Essentially, Masternodes support blockchain networks through various means, including but not limited to network uptime and speed, transaction processing, provision of anonymity, and even creation of decentralized governance.

Maintaining a Masternode can be Tough

So, here's the thing. I’ve been self-hosting a Dash Masternode for a couple years now. I had a VPS on VULTR hosting provider. The service was good but there was always some degree of technical know-how required, and constantly monitoring developer’s updates was quite a hassle. The final straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back was when Dash rolled out their scheduled DIP3 activation update and I had to go over a 10-page technical document about Deterministic Masternode List registration process. With a need to put forth consistent effort, maintaining a Masternode seemed to be a just a little bit too work-intensive to be truly considered as passive income.

Check out the ROIs on major Masternodes here.

Now, I know some people outsource these tasks to a single Masternode manager, who will report to them directly. But the problem with this approach is that it can be difficult to find the person, who is reliable enough to always keep the Masternode running and updated. If I opt for this alternative, I feel I would have regular concerns over the Masternode uptime and would end up double-checking with the manager on a regular basis; again, this would break the passive nature of the Masternode’s income.

So, I did some research to see how people manage to maintain a Masternode without having to make a deal with the Devil. Eventually, I came across some businesses which provide Masternodes hosting service.

Could Masternode hosting services be the much-needed sigh of relief?

Convenience: Masternode Hosting Services

The Crypto space is still in a nascent stage so there aren’t many Masternode hosting options. From the get-go, I aimed to choose the one that had strong positive community feedback. I also wanted to try Masternode hosting for free before I had to pay for it and most services just didn’t give that option. Eventually, I managed to find one that did, and it was Allnodes. Naturally, I decided to give it a go.

Another factor inclining me towards trying out Allnodes was Hosting a Masternode on the platform for popular coins like Dash, Zcoin or PIVX was free until the end of their open beta period, and Masternode hosting was only $5 a month after that; a very competitive offer indeed. It’s the same price as I had on VULTR! I was getting a free trial, the price was low, and I found good reviews, especially in dedicated masternode communities; so, I figured why not give it a shot.

The Experience

In Crypto, things often aren't as simple as they may seem at first. However, setting up a Masternode on Allnodes turned out to be quite straightforward as the UI was really pleasant to look at and easy to navigate.

I shut down my current VPS and started to host my Dash Masternode on Allnodes. It was quick: I just had to enter a Dash wallet address that had the amount of 1000 DASH coins needed to run a Masternode, then just put a provided line in the masternode.conf file.

Surprisingly, I found out that they also had a special offer of 6 months of free hosting for Dash nodes and seed registration to keep my privacy. These last points were a big plus as I’ve gotten used to making anonymous Crypto payments for Masternode services. They're out of free 6 month plans for Dash, but if you happen to have a big stack of CRO (Crypto.com Chain), you can host a CRO Council Node for free for 6 months.

After my Dash node had been successfully started, I was amused to find out that the entire set-up took me about 5 minutes to complete instead of several days. Having to deal with things like Deterministic Masternode List registration processes immediately became a thing of the past as the service includes full management of developer updates.

The main thing that pulled me into Masternode hosting is the almost impossible self-registration on the Deterministic Masternode List.Moreover, Allnodes only needed my wallet address to initiate the Masternode support. All the block rewards issued to the Masternode are innately delivered directly to the wallet address that holds the stake. No Masternode hosting service ever comes in contact with the block rewards as they just make sure the Masternode is running. So, there was no concern about someone running off with my funds and there was also no concern about someone trying to claim my block rewards.

Plug and Go Services are the Best.

In conclusion

Established Masternodes provide a Crypto ROI that can vary from a few to even hundreds of percent; it really depends on the cryptocurrency in question. So, plenty of hodlers end up setting them up. Considering how utterly difficult self-hosting can be, especially if a person wants to host multiple Masternodes, secure Masternode hosting services seem to be a pretty good option; I just wish I came across them earlier.

Just a few years ago, the opportunity to host Masternodes was only available for people with good technical knowledge. That’s why gaining a passive income from coins wasn’t easily available to the mass market. However, as the Crypto space has grown, it’s nice to see that services that make Masternode management easier have arrived. Now, anyone who’s hodling coins that can be used in a Masternode needs to put just 5 minutes and get a passive income rolling, and he/she needn’t be concerned about maintaining it.

Also, at the bottom of this page there's lots of interesting Masternode stats; plenty of insight on regional participation, daily Masternode income, and Masternode market caps.

Since I’ve seen some posts on Masternodes here before, I’m curious to hear other people’s experiences with Masternode hosting services.
Please, share your thoughts and experiences below!