Requirements

Nodes are starting to become a popular trend right now, so I thought I’d give a quick summary on Strong nodes and how they run as it is possibly the easiest node to set up. A Strong node currently requires 10 strong and has been that case for the past year. Right now that costs around $11000, and when you create a node you do lose that 10 strong. Here is a link to strong website. You will also have to factor in the gas costs to create nodes too, there are 2 transactions - an approval cost and creation of the node too.

There are no requirements like a VPS or personal computer to run a node, as these are run by Strongblock and it is so simple that you can create nodes from your phone. The only continuous requirement besides the initial 10 strong is the $14.95 monthly fee per node that has to be paid in Eth(be wary of gas) but you can pay up to 90 days in advance which is useful if you catch gas at low prices like the weekend or early mornings.

Rewards

Currently, one node provides roughly 0.1 strong a day, so you get your 10 strong back in 100 days or so with monthly fees. Once you get your 10 strong back, it is up to you to create another node(which is what most people do) or to take everything else as profit. Personally, I compounded my nodes for a few months then took out my initial investment, leaving the rest as playing money and now I continue to compound or use rewards to invest into other projects but it is up to personal preference on what to do. Every time you claim your strong rewards too, you will have to pay a gas fee and that depends on how many nodes you have i.e. if you claim all strong rewards and you have 5 nodes, you will pay less compared to someone with 8 nodes when they claim their strong rewards.

I will claim my strong but generally convert 1 or 2 strong into eth which covers the eth transactions cost and more, especially with the recent increase in price I only need to convert 1 strong and that still leaves extra funds too.

Future rewards

Strong did have a halvening earlier in the year, what this means is that originally each node was earning 0.2 node a day (the good days) but that got reduced to 0.1 and right now strongblock is currently testing out ways to keep the model sustainable without reducing rewards again. In a recent AMA, the CEO did mention they are hoping not to reduce rewards and instead bring other protocols onboard. This means you will be able to create fantom nodes, polygon nodes, dvpn nodes too and these will potentially pay out in their respective tokes and strong in a 50/50 split. The concept isn’t set in stone and can change but this is the most likely path I assume.vPolygon for example has set aside a grant of polygon tokens for its nodes but it's not entirely sure of the reward split whether it's 25/75 or 50/50.

NFTs

Next, we have Strong NFTs. There are 4 types – bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Each increases in price and provides more rewards. Platinum and silver are currently sold out and I don’t think there are any on the market currently but you can check open sea. Each NFTs will provide strong tokens i.e. A gold NFT will provide 0.6 strong a day, so even if the strong rewards do get halved or if you create other nodes, this gold NFT will provide an additional 0.6 strong a day. It is hella expensive tho, that’s why there are bronze and silver NFTs too. These NFTs also provide early entry to the next protocols or a raffle entry to the next protocol. I.e. For the new DVPN nodes, only NFT holders have been able to make them so far. I hope this makes sense!

Other nodes such as presearch or gala also provide good returns but you do have to run a VPS, which isn’t too complicated, but compared to strong, it is more effort.

Extra

Great people to follow: @Krypto_lex @baconezq @investorbacon @takegreenpill @NiftyPhoebe @phtevenstrong @NodeBaron