So, I've been talking to some people in the community and it seems some MNOs have set-up their Masternodes in a way that makes operating them a real pain the ass and can also reduce their privacy. This guide is to help you make some choices on where to keep your keys to make operating your Masternode simple, secure and easy.
Keys
The Masternode has the following keys (addresses).
Collateral address
This key is where you keep your 1000 Dash collateral, this should be in a hardware wallet like a Trezor or Ledger, or it can be in a 'paper' off-line wallet (advanced) it should not be in your core QT wallet or on a computer connected to the internet. Keep the device safe and make sure you have backups to allow you restore it, keep copies both onsite, eg and home and off-site eg with relatives etc, so if your place burns down, it doesn't take your keys with it.
Owner address
This allows you to update some things on your Masternode, eg voting and payout address, it cannot be used to spend your 1000 Dash collateral, it is important, but not crucial there is NO need to keep this on a hardware wallet.
Voting address
This key allows you to vote, that's all. It cannot change properties of your MN, it cannot be used to spend your collateral, there is no need to keep this on a hardware wallet.
Payout address
This key should be a different address to you collateral address! NEVER setup a Masternode and use the collateral address as your payout address, NEVER! Once you have this as a different address to your collateral address there is no need to keep this key on the hardware wallet either! Small funds can and should be entrusted on the desktop wallet.
The perfect Masternode
The perfect masternode is one where the collateral key is on the hardware wallet device and all other keys are in the Dash Core QT Desktop wallet. Here is the list of reasons why.
Always remember to keep a password on the core wallet and have it backed up somewhere, but it is not super critical because you will keep minimal funds there. The convenience of this set up is miles ahead of what I have seen some people deal with make sure your next Masternode is a perfect Masternode!
Conversion
If you already have all your keys on the hardware wallet and want to convert, you can do so without having to re-birth your masternode and without losing your spot in the payment queue. Simply look into the protx update_registrar ... command and use it to change the payout and voting keys to keys you generate in the core desktop wallet.
Keys
The Masternode has the following keys (addresses).
- Collateral key
- Owner key
- Voting key
- Payout key
Collateral address
This key is where you keep your 1000 Dash collateral, this should be in a hardware wallet like a Trezor or Ledger, or it can be in a 'paper' off-line wallet (advanced) it should not be in your core QT wallet or on a computer connected to the internet. Keep the device safe and make sure you have backups to allow you restore it, keep copies both onsite, eg and home and off-site eg with relatives etc, so if your place burns down, it doesn't take your keys with it.
Owner address
This allows you to update some things on your Masternode, eg voting and payout address, it cannot be used to spend your 1000 Dash collateral, it is important, but not crucial there is NO need to keep this on a hardware wallet.
Voting address
This key allows you to vote, that's all. It cannot change properties of your MN, it cannot be used to spend your collateral, there is no need to keep this on a hardware wallet.
Payout address
This key should be a different address to you collateral address! NEVER setup a Masternode and use the collateral address as your payout address, NEVER! Once you have this as a different address to your collateral address there is no need to keep this key on the hardware wallet either! Small funds can and should be entrusted on the desktop wallet.
The perfect Masternode
The perfect masternode is one where the collateral key is on the hardware wallet device and all other keys are in the Dash Core QT Desktop wallet. Here is the list of reasons why.
- You can vote directly from the QT wallet!
Having your voting key in the wallet allows you to issue gobject vote-many ... command and easily vote in the DAO! - You can see the status of all your Masternodes !
Having your voting or payout key in the core wallet means your Masternode will now show on the Masternodes tab (enable this first from the Options menu and restart the wallet). Simply select the My Masternodes check box and it will filter for your nodes, want to know your POSE score, well now you can trustlessly !!! - Having the Owner key in your Desktop wallet allows you to issue those goofy protx ..... commands to reset your POSE ban, or change keys easily and without trusting a third party or having to sign any message, just one command and one block later and you're done!
- Having your payout address on the Core wallet allows you to freaking mix your funds!
The core wallet is the best mixer in town, when you have the payout address loaded in the app and turn on mixing it will mix the payouts only ever with themselves and never link 2 addresses together giving you perfect privacy! How do you think MNOwatch discovered such big whales? Because they don't mix and they join all node payouts together before mixing if they even do, don't be that guy (on a report) ! Mix your loot and make sure, the loot goes straight into the core wallet mixer, nowhere else first or risk ending up on a report ! - You can spend your payout!
This may sound crazy, but some hardware wallets suck so bad that when you get a lot of payouts they crash when you try to send the Dash out of the wallet and it gets stuck there needing support to give you unpalatable options to free the hostage Dash! Don't be that guy! Put the payout address on the core wallet and mix there. - Mixed Dash is happy Dash.
Once your Dash is mixed, you can do cool things with it, send some to your mobile device for spending, eg on Dash Direct, send some Dash to exchange and buy your wife some flowers! A happy wife == happy life ! and any dash left over, send it back to your hardware wallet for safe keeping! keep the balance small on the Desktop wallet!
Always remember to keep a password on the core wallet and have it backed up somewhere, but it is not super critical because you will keep minimal funds there. The convenience of this set up is miles ahead of what I have seen some people deal with make sure your next Masternode is a perfect Masternode!
Conversion
If you already have all your keys on the hardware wallet and want to convert, you can do so without having to re-birth your masternode and without losing your spot in the payment queue. Simply look into the protx update_registrar ... command and use it to change the payout and voting keys to keys you generate in the core desktop wallet.
