Since this been coming up a lot in Discord lately, I decided to make a news article about this to save some time from MODs, so if you are new to Telos, and planning on putting up one of those low, for example 1K master nodes, read this first to understand why this is a bad idea.
First of all, you might have check from one of the masternodes statistics places and seen how Telos make 50 percent ROI a year, which basically is true, but what these masternode services leave out from their ROI calculations is that they assume your node is running already and getting rewards.
When you first set up your node, it will take some time for your node to network with other nodes and actually get the first reward. After you get the first reward, things get normal.
How long it takes to get the reward depends not only on amount of nodes, with more nodes in network, longer it takes to get the first reward, but it also matters how many coins are locked into masternodes in total in network.
Since in Telos we have 5 different kinds of nodes, 1k, 3k, 10k, 30k, 100k, the amount of locked coins plays a bigger role than the amount of nodes.
As a comparison, if there is only one 1k node in the whole network before you set up your 1k node, you will get your rewards very quickly.
But if instead of 1k node, there is just one 100k node in the network before you set your 1k node up, this will be much slower compared to situation where the before existing node is only 1k node.
Another thing to take into consideration, and I am not sure how exactly this one works, but if you set up 1k node today, you might get first reward for example a month later. however, when next day someone sets up 100k nodes, for some reason your 1k nodes first reward will get delayed to longer, which could mean that you would for example get first reward 1 month and 1 day later, which is no big deal, except, there will keep coming more 100k masternodes while you are waiting for your first reward, and all those new 100k masternodes pushes your first reward by a day more.
In reality, one 100k node won’t push your nodes first reward 1 day forward, but less, but I was just using this 1 day as an easy to understand example.
FIRST TIME REWARD AND MANDATORY FORK IN JULY
In July there will happen so called Mandatory fork which was voted in governance.rocks.
I will get briefly to voting later, but you can read more from this Article about governance.rocks Telos fundamentals voting results
To see how long it takes to get regular and first time rewards for any of the Telos nodes, the most trusty place for this is masternodestats.info
As of the time of writing this article, normal reward time for a 1k node is 66 days.
Since first time reward is in normal case something between regular reward time to 3 times that time, it means if you are very lucky, you will get first reward after 66 days, or if you are unlucky, only after 199 days.
And this isnt taking into account that new 3k-100k nodes will push both these timetables even further.
Since mandatory fork is only roughly 90 days away and mandatory fork means that all the current nodes become useless and need to be set up again, this means that it is very likely that your 1k node will never receive a single reward (unless you are on the very lucky side) since at the time it would yield you the first reward, the mandatory fork will have already happened.
BUT I JUST WANT TO SET UP A NODE TO TRY IT OUT
While this is understandable, this just wont work.
The only way for you to know if your node is set up and working right, is by getting a reward from it.
Since it is highly unlikely you will get any reward before the mandatory fork happens, you will never know if you actually set it up right, making your test useless.
WELL THEN I WAIT UNTIL MANDATORY FORK AND TEST THEN WITH 1K NODE SINCE I JUST WANT TO TRY THIS OUT WITH SMALL MONEY FIRST
That wont work either. It was voted that new master node levels will be 100k/300k/1kk/3kk/10kk
therefore minimum Telos node will be 100k node after the mandatory vote.
Personally I would have liked there having been an option for 1k nodes too, but voting just didn’t go that way even I had wanted it to go.
WELL IF I CANT TRY IT WITH SMALL MONEY, THEN I DONT WANT TO TRY IT AT ALL
First of all, it isn’t unusual for a successful coins master node prices to be high. Just look at DASH. DASH might require only 1k coins locked to its master node, but you just look at the price of one DASH and you notice no poor kid is going to be ever setting up a DASH master node.
Basically Telos is now just moving to that same more expensive node category demanding people to put roughly 1 000 USD to set up a node, although, by the time the mandatory fork happens, it might already be much more expensive depending what way price of Telos goes.
Regardless, it doesnt really matter what the price is for setting up a node, since nowadays there are anyway services available which make it possible for you to take part of a node, even part of DASH nodes. You might not be able to affford whole DASH node, but you will likely be able to invest for example 1 percent of a DASH node, so then you go to one of these services and buy 1 percent share of a DASH node, this is same with TELOS too, there are services who are offering shares of a Telos node.
Of course, it isn’t the same as your own node, but it is pretty good alternative, sometimes even better than running your own.
Then there is also the staking option, upon which you have two different options.
First one is that you stake yourself. This means you keep money in your wallet and your wallet open.
Notice also that in votes the staking share is about to double after July fork.
Currently new rewards split is still 10/90, 10 for staking, 90 for nodes, but after July, this split will be 20/80.
Minimum staking amount is to keep 1000 coins in your wallet, however, since so many coins are being staked, it might take a long time before you get your first staking reward.
For this reason, for second option, I would recommend using bitdorado.eu instead, where you can stake with small amounts already, and will be getting shares of rewards fairly quick.
Do notice, however, that bitdorado requires AML-NOW KYC, which costs you 1000 Telos, but that will also give you AML tokens so it is not just paying coins, but you are also getting something.
OTHERWISE SOUNDS GOOD BUT THAT CHANGE TO 100K TO 10KK NODES, ISNT THAT HOW SCAMMERS DO IT, SOUNDS FISHY TO ME
Yes, many coins do that. When they notice their coins aren’t selling enough anymore and the price starts getting down, they get this idea. Let’s change the Nodes collateral higher, that way people have to buy more coins to keep their nodes running and it results in a short term need for more coins and hence the price to go up.
However, while this effect might work in Telos price too, this however isnt same as with those ones.
First of all, Price of Telos havent really gone down to require a Collateral change to artifically make demand.
Second, Coins that do that, usually have only one type of node. If you have only 1k nodes and you change them into 10k nodes, suddenly 10 times more coins are going to be locked to these already existing nodes, since people want to keep running them.
However, since Telos has 5 different Tiers (5 different master node collaterals), this works bit different.
Idea is that if you have 1k node, you have one raffle ticket in your hand. If you have 100k node, you basically have 100 raffle tickets in your hand.
Since most nodes are already 100k nodes, especially from collateral coins point of view, there is no forced to put higher collateral to your nodes.
Most master node runners will likely still keep running 100k nodes like before, simply because they cant afford the higher tiers.
However, those few who do have been able to afford buying several 100k nodes, they will likely combine their nodes to one of the higher Tiers to make their life easier.
That for example if someone is running hundred 100k nodes now, he can now instead keep running only one 10kk (thats ten million) node saving a whole load of trouble.
Especially if price of coin goes up due to this change, then this will force the situation to remain same even more strong, since people simply cant afford to buy those higher Tier nodes, they are pretty expensive, just the next tier from 100k tier would already cost 3 000 USD, how many can afford that?
I cant really see the comparison here with scam coins artifical increase of price by making higher collateral compared to Telos coins higher collaterals.
There already isn’t many people putting up less than 30k nodes since there is no point in doing so anymore, it is just now forced that you have to put the first sensible node, which is 100k node, which is anyway what you would do if you are sensible.
ABOUT THE VOTING A BIT
Since many people seem to be both surprised and think there is something fishy going on with voting when they realize that Telos does it differently to rest, let me explain it to you a bit.
First of all, the Mandatory fork in July. Some people are worried about this too since they don’t understand why there has to be one while some other coins don’t have such a thing.
I have explained this at the beginning of this article that talks about possibly future coming Telos Revolution coin
Now, usually, coins use a voting system where Nodes are able to vote. This makes sure that each node can only vote once etc.
It has many benefits, and until this coming mandatory fork, I would have favored this system to be used in Telos votings too.
However, these latest changes coming in July, show that, at least in my opinion, Pascal was right about his voting system decision.
Telos voting works so that anyone who has 90 Telos, can make one vote, even several times, which is a part that still basically worries me.
However, if you plan to vote several times, you actually have to vote several times, that you cant vote 10 times at once, but you actually have to give a single vote 10 times. This is to help with avoiding someone rich in Telos to decide the voting alone.
Basically richest Telos owner still can decide the voting results himself, but at least this takes a whole load of time, especially if smaller owners decide to gang up against him since 10 people can vote ten times faster than one rich.
The philosophy behind this decision was that usually only Master Node owners are able to vote, but this completely leaves out lots of people who for example use only shared hosting options or who are only staking or maybe just holding coins.
In master nodes only voting system, these people have no voice. In Telos, even these people have a voice.
Especially now that it looks like that at July fork a minimum to get a master node will become 1 000 USD, and if the price of Telos goes up, it will be even more expensive, this means that with master nodes only, only very few, the rich and those who put money at the beginning to Telos, would be able to decide about future directions.
With the current voting system, however, everyone who holds any Telos will be able to cast their vote on subjects.
For example, I have been on Telos right from the beginning, but I have been too lazy to have master nodes myself (tried them at one point for a short while, until Peertoro came to play) and I wouldn’t be able to vote on any votings unless the system would be like it currently is.
All in all, it isnt a perfect system, nor is master nodes voting system perfect.
Master nodes voting system leaves lots of people outside from votings, while this system has the vulnerability that a rich one with lot of time can decide the result of a voting.
Which is a better system, or would there be a third even better system, is up to debate, but this is anyway the voting system we have on Telos right now, and everyone can participate in it.
Hence, change to 100k – 10kk is not Devs decision to manipulate the price (although we can’t really be sure of that since maybe he cast all those votes), but it was a democratic major vote decision.
Someone may have had his hands in it and played a game in his favor, but anyone else could have done the same with any of the other options.
No conspiracies, scams, or secret plays here that any other voters couldn’t have done as well.
Fair and square.
