If you have ever read any of my previous articles, you know that I regard cryptocurrency as a security/investment. With this being said, a simple quote from Warren Buffet came to mind. Once asked, “ how do you invest,” he responded, “I invest in what I know.” I don’t fully understand NFTs and all these other cryptocurrencies, but I do understand the premise of the mysterium network. Mysterium is a web 3.0 global network that provides internet access without the restrictions or monitoring of web 2.0 internet service providers. It’s a peer-to-peer networking and unblocking solution. It’s also a network where developers can build web 3.0 applications.
Mysterium users pay for only the internet service that they use. Individuals earn MYST tokens to host web 3.0 nodes that provide internet access. Nodes are simple servers that power the network. As a node runner, you earn MYST if people connect to your node for internet access.
In America, we relatively have unfettered access to the internet ( for better or for worse), but in some countries, websites and content are blocked or controlled by the government. Mysterium is a network that allows individuals to access the internet without restrictions. For more information, please refer to the website https://www.mysterium.network/nodes.
I’ve set up countless servers and understand the core concepts of web 3.0, so this was a slam dunk for me. However, I can get behind the idea of providing a service and being paid for that service; pretty straightforward, so let the journey begin!
Analysis
This is not a step-by-step guide for setting up Mysterium nodes. This is more of an analysis to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze. I start my analysis of Web 3.0. Let’s look past the countries that openly censor their citizens because Web 3.0 is a no-brainer solution. Instead, let’s look at the internet for western countries. Just a few corporations control the internet. Hell, even Facebook has telecommunication satellites and intercontinental underwater fiber lines, and they’re a social media company! These few don’t treat the internet as a free market, and the consumer doesn’t get to dictate the terms from their buying power like a free market. Thus, the consumer is left to “take what you can get .”Web 3.0 hopes to change that narrative. This sentiment really hit home on 11 June 2018 when the FCC ordered the end of net neutrality. Meaning, that the internet is no longer an open space for individuals, and these few powerful companies can dictate the terms on how individuals interact with the internet. Censorship by these organizations has been at an all-time high, and people are speaking out. This qualitative analysis concludes that Web 3.0 technologies will soon be in high demand. Web 3.0 can allow consumers to take control of their internet use and content.
My quantitative analysis shows that running a node will cost around 5-$13 a month (Note: I’m using a particular option that I will discuss later. Hosting a node at home will save on cost but incur more risk). A higher-performing node will cost around 15-$25 a month, hopefully generating more traffic that would lead to more MYST. So, first, I will run a lower-performing node to determine a solid baseline for monthly MYST earnings. Then, after a couple of months, I will run higher-performing nodes and compare the two.
My initial cost to run a node is approximately $156 per year. I don’t know how many MYST this will earn as of yet, but this is more of a long-term investment. The goal is to build MYST over time, staking MYST to generate residual income and sell at a high price.
Selecting your node options
The Mysterium network provides a couple of options for running a node. You can set up a node at your house on a regular server, set up a raspberry pi device, or host a node on a virtual private server (VPS). I chose the VPS option for a couple of reasons. First, the other two options are utilizing my home’s internet bandwidth (not ideal). Also, I wanted to make sure the internet traffic from people using the Mysterium network is separate from my home internet traffic. There are ways to separate the two, but I found hosting the node on a VPS was the easiest solution. Afterward, I created a Mysterium account.
I selected a hosting solution from two options, the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or Digital Ocean. I first tried the GCP, but I couldn’t add the MYST repository for reasons unknown. So that left me with Digital Ocean, which added the repositories with no issues.
Conclusion: The future
Web 3.0 is in its infancy, and MYST is currently trading at $.18. However, web 3.0 is bound to take off. More people value their digital privacy, and the Mysterium network is an answer. Worst case scenario, I gain more experience running and managing VPS servers with a write-off on my taxes.
