What is a node in blockchain technology?
In the previous chapter, we talked about how the blockchain is constructed and that the community needs to create a consensus to add information. Validators that create new blocks approve this information.
When we are looking at this in greater detail, we have to differentiate between nodes and miners. Nodes can be divided into full and light nodes; the latter is a user. That means he is saving only parts of the blockchain on his computer and his primary interest is to send and receive payments. Those payments are rewarded by the user with a transaction fee/mining fee.
(In theory, it is possible not to pay any transaction fees, but miners prefer transactions with fees. Therefore, it can take years for your transaction to be processed, if you decided not to offer a reward/fee or a lower one than standard.)
Full nodes, on the other hand, are saving the complete blockchain and forward transaction/information to create a consensus.
By looking at coin comparisons, you may find that coins such as DASH have master nodes and others such as Bitcoin do not. Masternodes are another feature the blockchain can offer. In this paragraph, we will explain what these are and why some coins have it, and others have not.
The Cryptocurrency called DASH established master nodes. They are servers, which offer a service that regular miners or nodes cannot process.
Before a master node can be used, the user needs to put in a stake to be able to create one. (In the DASH -network this would be 1000 DASH, currently around 500,000$ (March 2018)).
The tasks of a master node can vary within different currencies, but usually, they are able to process instant or anonymous transactions. Furthermore, they protect the network from attacks and have a higher voting right, when it comes to decisions regarding the blockchain. These characteristics are perfect for running smart contracts.
Of course, staking that much money will be rewarded differently than usual mining. Even though it depends on Cryptocurrency, a masternode can earn 5-20% of a given block reward.
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