Dash is one of my favorite Cryptocurrencies and I certainly see it surpassing BTC. One of the coolest and most innovative parts about Dash is the Masternodes. It's a groundbreaking innovation that allowed Dash to offer Private and Instant transactions. But owning and operating one can be a hassle, especially if you don't have much money in your hands. A Masternode requires you to stake 1000 Dash and many people don't possess such funds. But why should you even bother with a Masternode

There Are Many Reasons. But It's Not For Everyone

A Masternode is sort of the crypto equivalent of a bond. It is a long term commitment where you have to sacrifice short term trading for a strong and safe investment (as long as you pick your crypto well). AFAIK Dash is the very first Decentralized Autonomous Organization and it is also the first coin to introduce Masternodes. Currently almost 60% of the circulating supply of Dash is locked up as Masternodes. That should say something about the stability of the coin among many others who are simply trying to rip off the concept thinking that somehow it would succeed.

A Masternode is something for HODLers who believe in a project that doesn't have the time or desire today trade or swing trade for short term gains. Dash currently gives roughly 100 Dash per Masternode per year. Considring that it ould cost only a tiny fraction of that to provide the "services" to the network, you are making some serious bank (both literally and metaphorically)

Other Options

Dash isn't the only one in the game. PIVX is the PoS spiritual sibling of Dash. They are even on STEEM. @pivx attempt to balance the amount of staked coins and Maternode collateral ration by automatically adjusting the amount of rewards given which makes the interest rate seem less appealing compared to Dash. But on the other hand PIVX has roughly 6.2% of the marketcap of Dash which gives PIVX a great deal of room for growth. In fact I belive PIVX to be one of the most underrated cryptocurrencies with many innovations under the belt: https://steemit.com/pivx/@vimukthi/congratulations-pivx-for-making-hisotry-with-another-1st-in-the-crypto-sphere

Out of all safe HODL investments where you can earn crypto for HODLing, NEO is simply the easiest of all. You could simply make a Binance account and store your NEO or get the NEON Wallet at https://neonwallet.com/ or GitHub and keep your coins there. That's it. No setting things up and no services to provide for the network. You don't even to be online. It's just like using any other crypto light wallet. But you get GAS for your NEO. The interest rate can be volatile and I've seen rates between 3%-16% and you can keep track of those numbers at the nifty website https://neotogas.com

STEEM Could Still Be The Best Passive Investment

15% of all newly creates STEEM is distributed among those who hold VESTS (STEEM Power) and STEEM inflation is at around 9.5% with an annual reduction of about 0.5% Since liquid STEEM doesn't get these rewards the actual interest rates happens to be somewhat close to 1.9% and slowly going down. You don't have to do anything to earn these rewards. But unlike NEO, you can't just take your VESTS out in the form of liquid STEEM whenever you want. You have to face a 13 week power down.

But there are other ways which some individuals find to be questionable practices. For the sake of exploration, let's keep things theoretical.

I've noticed that a 100% vote is roughly worth 1/10000th of the amount of SP I hold. SBD price fluctuations may change the value. But let's not talk about them now. Theoretically you can self vote 10 times for 365 days and get a return of 36.5% annual interest + the above mentioned rewards for VEST holders. This isn't a great way to build a community and those who practice get downvoted or they are too tiny to be spotted or to make a significant impact. So most people go for delegations to bid bots, individual users or they start selling upvotes. These things are not as profitable in terms of ROI but at least they are a part of the eco-system of STEEM blockchain.

My Favorite Method of Passive Crypto Income

I like to write and put my thoughts on the blockchain as sort of a personal journal. I comment, reply and give upvotes to great content and I resteem some of them. At the current rate I would be earning close to a 40 SP each year from my curation. I'll be growing my followers and I'll be getting a bunch of upvotes for the stuff I post. The days I'm making about $80 per week by posting on STEEM. I've repeatedly said that steemit is the greatest mass online community on Earth and I'm being an active participant of it. These things are more unique and they matter more than just simple mechanical ROI. I'm also selling my excess VP on SmartSteem for users who have 2 star content and above when my VP goes above 98% which is a great way to make sure that my voting power never hits 100% Optionally you can also try Minnowbooster

It's a full package. I get a censorship free platform that I can use for free. I can support charity projects directly or using https://fundition.io I get to participate on Ari Drops like the HUNT Token and I've met some amazing people on STEEM and it has been a social media experience beyond comparison considering the other available options. Taking everything into consideration at 10% ROI is a very reasonable expectation which is the same as Dash Masternodes. But STEEM is for those who want to work and be a part of a community.

You Can Buy Dash Masternode Shares

If you decide not to fund bidbots or be an active participant on STEEM, I think Dash is the best option based on the interest rate. I also consider Dash and EOS to be the safest billion dollar cryptos out there in the market. I simply cannot conceive a future where Dash would become a failure in the next 5 years. So it's a very good place to bet your money on get into a coma.

But if you don't have those 1000 Dash, you can let some professionals to take care of things if you are willing to earn 9% instead of 10%

https://dashmasternode.io

This one is the oldest serice as far as I know and they have been around for more than 3 years. Unfortunately you can't use their services of you are US citizen (because of draconian regulations)

https://swarm.fund/dashmasternodes

Normally, 1,000 Dash are required to host a masternode, making the ~$250k price tag unattainable for most individuals. Masternode sharing services exist today, but Swarm’s opportunity is the first to extend voting rights to all fractional owners, using the Liquid Democracy Voting Module (LDVM) built in partnership with SecureVote. Additionally, the entity operating the shared masternode will operate as a non-profit, with only actual operating expenses deducted from block rewards. Everything else, and all voting rights, will extend directly to DMN token holders.

“Expanding access to Dash masternodes is a long standing request from many in the Dash community. On Swarm, and across the security token landscape, investment access for non-accredited US investors is an important barrier to overcome. This is about decentralized community governance so it was important to us that it be as inclusive as possible. That’s why we plan to file with the SEC under Reg A+ and make the DMN token available to the general public"

https://neptunedash.com

These guys are a publicly traded company on Toronto Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol "Dash" and their official name is Neptune Dash Technologies Corp. At the moment you can buy a share for 0.2 Canadian Dollars. I have to warn that the liquidity isn't the best. Only buy if you want to HODL.

Happy Investing!

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