BCZ Masternode Setup Guide in 7 simple steps.

7 min readJun 22, 2019

Nodes are computers that host a full copy of BCZ’s blockchain and help to verify the validity of transactions. Masternodes are a special type of node that earn a part of BCZ’s block reward (currently at 1.0 BCZ of the 3.1 BCZ block reward ) in return for hosting a reliable and powerful node that helps to support the network. Masternodes require a refundable collateral of 5000 BCZ to ensure masternode holders have a stake in the coin and are incentivised to keep it working honestly, updated often and have a high uptime.

Disclaimer: This guide assumes a basic knowledge of PuTTy (or Terminal), Linux and level of comfort in dealing with command line commands. We are not responsible for any loss for using this guide without the pre-requisite knowledge. If you have any doubts then please do not use this guide and instead consult with one of the third party masternode providers.

Getting Started

Whether you are hosting with a masternode provider or doing it on your own, ensure you have the latest BCZ wallet and you have already obtained your 5000 BCZ (preferably just a bit more to cover fees when you’re transferring around). You also need a VPS (Linux, Ubuntu 16.04 recommended) with a static IP-address.

Note: About third party masternode providers… You should only need to provide your address that you deposited your BCZ in. Some providers may ask for the key you generated with masternode genkey (either way is okay). You should NEVER need to deposit 5000 BCZ to them or to an address outside your PC/Mac wallet or to give any of your private keys (that is obtained via the command: dumpprivkey). We will delist providers that are reported as scams or have acted irresponsibly but hold no responsibility for having them listed BCZ as it is impossible for us to police.

Step 1: Encrypt and Backup your wallet

If you haven’t done so already, make sure you encrypt your wallet!

Navigate to Settings > Encrypt Wallet

After you have encrypted it, it is also recommended to do a backup via File > Backup Wallet. It is recommended to store this wallet on a separate physical drive or pen drive. The wallet.dat is encrypted so even if the wallet.dat is exposed, if your password is long enough, it will be secure.

Note: Please don’t forget your passphrase/password! No one can help you if you lose your passphrase/password.

Step 2: Generate a masternode key and deposit your 5000 BCZ

Although it isn’t a good idea to leak out your masternode key, even if this information is out, your 5000 BCZ is safe. If a third party gets hold of this masternode key, all they can do is start/stop your masternode. This key is just a “digital handshake” between your PC/Mac wallet and the VPS wallet.

Your deposit address is where you will be depositing your 5000 BCZ.

Click on Tools > Debug Console and enter in the following commands.

masternode genkey

This generates the masternode key. Copy it into Notepad or a .txt file (This is your private key).

getaccountaddress MN1

This generates the masternode deposit address for your 5000 BCZ. Copy it into the same Notepad or .txt file. If you have multiple masternodes, you can also create additional addresses and unique masternode keys for each of them.

Send EXACTLY 5000 BCZ into the masternode deposit address that you just created in one single transaction. That means, don’t send 1500 and then another 3500! It has to be in one single transaction!

Note: It is not recommended to send it direct from an exchange as they might deduct certain withdrawal fees resulting in less than 5000 BCZ in that transfer.

You will now need to wait for 6 confirmations for this transaction to be valid as your masternode deposit. You can proceed with the other steps in the meantime!

Step 3: Create a masternode.conf file on your own PC/Mac

We now need to find out the transaction id and index of your masternode deposit. Click on Tools > Debug Console and enter in the following command.

masternode outputs

The first portion is your Transaction ID and the second number (typically 0 or 1) is the Index.

Now open the masternode.conf file in your BCZ data directory with Notepad or a similair program.

The data directory is located at:

(Windows) -> C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\BCZ
(Mac) -> /Users/Username/Library/Application Support/BCZ
(Unix) -> /.bcz

Enter in the following format in your masternode.conf.

LABEL IP:29500 MASTERNODEPRIVKEY TXID INDEX

LABEL: Any name that you want to call your masternode in one word. For e.g. MN1
IP: Your masternode VPS IP and port 29500
MASTERNODEPRIVKEY: This is the masternode key that you obtained from masternode genkey
TXID: This is the Transaction ID for the transaction in which you got your 5000 BCZ deposited which you obtained just now through themasternode outputscommand.
INDEX: This is the Index of your transaction which you obtained just now through the masternode outputscommand.

To make things more clear, let’s show a made up example of how a masternode.conf would look like.

MN1 123.123.123.123:29500 83vTiq4PiEqjCDyRg2Hd5a3fpYKZpgvvQ96MoN4C1D1zxALCo12 d6fd38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dfd33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb 0

Once you have entered the necessary details, save your masternode.conf. Restart your BCZ wallet so it would take the new settings.

Step 4: Get a VPS

There are many providers online to choose out there. Select a VPS package that meets the minimum requirements:

Ubuntu 16.04 64-bit
1 Core
512MB of RAM
10 GB of disk space
Static IP

Note: Remember reliability is more important than price. If your masternode goes offline, you will potentially miss out on payouts which would be more than your VPS cost.

Once it is done, the VPS provider should give you a username (usually root) and a password. Use a SSH client like PuTTy, Terminal or if the VPS provider provides it, open up a console window.

Step 5: Configuring your VPS

ssh root@123.123.123.123

We are installing UFW (uncomplicated firewall) to further secure your server. This is optional but highly recommended.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install ufw

The next steps opens port 29500 which is required for your masternode to communicate.

sudo ufw allow ssh/tcp
sudo ufw allow 29500/tcp
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw enable

You now have a firewall setup!

Step 6: Installing BCZ in your VPS

You will have to type the following instructions exactly as follows. These instructions will install the wallet to the server and set up the masternode configuration.

wget https://github.com/BitcoinCZ/bitcoincz/releases/download/6.0.0.8/linux-x64.tar.gz
tar -xvzf linux-x64.tar.gz
rm linux-x64.tar.gz

Note: Make sure you are downloading the most recent wallet. You can check on Github to see what’s the latest version available and download it. Also make sure you’re putting the address correctly as it is long and chances of a typo are high. Make sure there is actual downloading happening and it takes time to load.

mkdir .bcz
nano ~/.bcz/bcz.conf

This will create and open a new text file called bzc.conf in a text editor called nano.

In that new file type the following and change the bolded parts to match your actual details.

addnode=51.83.98.8
addnode=51.83.98.12
addnode=51.83.98.13
addnode=51.83.98.21
addnode=51.83.78.28
masternode=1
externalip=YOURIP:29500
masternodeprivkey=MASTERNODEPRIVKEY

Press Ctrl-X to save and press Y to confirm it, then press enter.

Type the following command to start your BCZ daemon and let it sync, this will take a few minutes.

./bczd -daemon

You can always check the status of syncing by typing:

./bcz-cli getinfo

To check the status of your masternode type:

./bcz-cli masternode status

Check how far the block number has gone in relation to our Chainz Block Explorer. Once it has synced, it’s now time to start your masternode!

Step 7: Start your masternode

Now let’s go back to your local PC/Mac wallet (not the masternode). Hopefully you will have already gotten 6 confirmations. If not, wait a bit more!

Note: Remember if you haven’t restarted your local wallet after creating masternode.conf, please restart your wallet.

Once it’s up again go to your masternodes tab. If you have done it correctly, it should show your masternode on the My Masternodes tab. Select your masternode and click Start alias which starts your masternode that is listed in your masternode.conf.

Your masternode should show PRE_ENABLED status now and after about 20 minutes or 10 blocks, should transition to ENABLED. If it transitions to NEW_START_REQUIRED or EXPIRED, there might be something wrong with your setup, double check again.

If you did all steps exactly like we explained in this guide you should now have a fully working masternode. Let the rewards start coming in!

Note: If you’d like to set more than one masternode, repeat all steps and deploy a new server. The file masternode.conf should have two lines each for each node. Also call the second node MN2.