Zero (ZER) Masternode Hosting on Pecunia

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Zerocurrency

5 min readOct 21, 2021

What are Masternodes?

On blockchains like Zero’s, full nodes store a complete copy of the ledger, connect with peer nodes, and process/validate transactions. Because they are so important, coins like Zero provide incentives for running transaction-validating full nodes that can be trusted, called masternodes. These nodes are trusted because operators provide collateral (10,000 ZER) during set up.

Why run a Zero Masternode (ZeroNode)?

For Zero, 25% of the reward for each new block on the chain goes to a ZeroNode (1.35 of 5.40 ZER). Fewer ZeroNodes in the network mean that each node earns more ZER per day. At the time of this article, there were 104 ZeroNodes running, earning on average 8.1 ZER per day for a return on investment of 29.57% per year. Current numbers can be found on the ‘Wallet Info’ tab of the ZeroWallet.

That sounds great! How do I get started?

ZeroNodes can be hosted on your own using a VPS, or you can use a hosting service like Pecunia. These options are described more here.

Using a hosting service like Pecunia makes sense for many users because it is inexpensive (~$1 per month), secure (you keep your ZER collateral on your own wallet), and easy to set up.

Pecunia Platform

Zero(ZER)

pecuniaplatform.io

Step 1: Fund the ZeroNode

Generate a new transparent (t) ZER address. In the ZeroWallet Receive tab, click on ‘New Address.’ Be sure to Export and save/backup the private key in a secure location!

Send exactly 10,000 ZER to this new address in one transaction.
Copy the transaction ID — you’ll need this later. To get the ID, you can right click the transaction on the ‘Overview’ tab and select ‘Copy txid’ to copy it. You can also find it by searching for your t address in the ZER block explorer: https://insight.zeromachine.io/insight/

Step 2: Pay for hosting on Pecunia

Decide how long you want the ZeroNode to be hosted. It’s less expensive per month the longer you want it to be hosted: 1 month ($1.99), 3 months ($4.48), 6 months ($5.94). If you go for the 6 month option, hosting is less than $1 per month!
Pay for hosting on the ‘Billing’ tab. Pecunia gives many crypto options to pay for hosting (BTC, ETH, etc.). We recommend selecting a coin that is easy to trade (on lots of exchanges), with fast confirmation times and low transaction fees. TRX works well for sending small payments like these. To pay for 6 months of hosting, enter at least $5.94 in the amount, and Pecunia will link to a payment service and tell you the amount of the coin you selected to send for payment.

Check payment status on ‘Payment History’

Once the Payment status shows as ‘Completed,’ your Pecunia account will be credited and you’re ready to deploy the ZeroNode.

Step 3: Deploy the ZeroNode on Pecunia

Click on the plus (+) sign to add a new node.

Select ZER and how long you want the node to be hosted.

Enter your 10,000 ZER transaction ID into the proper field. Click ‘Check’

Deploy the ZeroNode, selecting the new private key option. This will generate a new private key that you use when activating the ZeroNode. The ZeroNode private key is different from the private key for the t address that holds your collateral funds.

Wait for the ZeroNode to be installed. This will take a few minutes.

The status will change to syncing. Once it does that, you can click on the ZeroNode name or the gear icon to see the configuration information.

You’ll need to copy the IP address and the ZeroNode private key. The transaction ID should match the information you provided earlier.

Step 4: Remotely Activate the ZeroNode in your ZeroWallet

Go to the ZeroNodes tab in your wallet and click on ‘New ZN’.
Enter a name for the ZeroNode under ‘Alias’, the IP address for the node, the ZeroNode private key, and the Transaction ID under ‘Output.’
Click on ‘Update’

Restart your wallet
Check if the ZeroNode is ready for remote activation on Pecunia.

Once the wallet has restarted and fully synced, right click the ZeroNode info under ‘Local ZeroNodes’ and select ‘Start.’ This will activate your ZeroNode.

Step 5: Profit!

Sometime in the next 18–24 hours, you should receive your first ZeroNode payment. After the first payment, subsequent payments will come every 4 hours or so, depending on how many ZeroNodes are currently in the network. It will be longer if the count of ZeroNodes is higher than when this article was written (104).

You’ll want to set up some notifications in Pecunia — you can be notified if the ZeroNode status changes and when payments are received.