If you know Monero then you probably know that there are so many Cryptocurrencies based on Monero. Previously we’ve discussed about some of the coins that is a fork of Monero and based on CryptoNote technology. Here are some of them for you to glance: Stellite, Loki, IPBC (which is now BitTube), Saronite, MoneroV, Monero original, Classic, Zero and Wownero. Here we are going to cover another Monero fork called Masari (MSR).
So what’s so special about Masari when there are so many CryptoNote coins out there? Since it is a fork of Monero; Masari cryptocurrency has all privacy features which Monero posses. But what’s so special is Masari has a strong community, active development team, had no premine, no ICO and the max supply is super low. Wait!? Is this what sets Masari apart from Monero and its forks. No, in addition to privacy features; Masari is focused on scalability and is trying to bring in some new features which other CryptoNote coins lack.
It’s always worth mentioning coins that brings something new to the table. Here we’ll see What Masari coin is, its features and technical specifications. Along with that let’s see the market trend of Masari and a quick guide on how to setup Masari wallet for beginners.
Masari (MSR) Cryptocurrency
Masari is a decentralized cryptocurrency fork of Monero code that is based on CryptoNote technology. All transaction are secured using the power of distributed peer to peer consensus network. It uses Proof of Work consensus mechanism and the algorithm used by Masari is CryptoNight Fast (CN-Fast). A new CN variant algorithm developed by Masari which is ASIC resistance, and is currently not supported by NiceHash.
Masari is a digital currency that ensures privacy and focuses more towards scalability. CryptoNote provides transaction privacy and all coins that uses this technology are untraceable and unlinkable. In addition to the standard privacy features Masari also posses Ring Confidential Transactions (Ring CT). Ring CT is a feature that provides fungibility and it was first proposed by Monero. Aside from this Masari has an additional goal to improve scalability. The Masari team is working on features such as block tree sharding and uncle mining which enables dynamic scaling on the chain.
Masari coin features
Masari is a cryptocurrency that is simple, secure and scalable. It aims to improve Monero and the community states that Masari is the Litecoin of Monero.
Simple: Masari is simple to use and is cross platform supported. It offers user friendly web wallet, mobile wallet as well as desktop wallet.
Secure: Masari uses Ring CT protocol which makes transaction completely untraceable on the blockchain. But what’s special about Masari is that it has enforced a homogeneous ring size across the network. The ring size is 13 and since it is static nobody can choose a different ring size and potentially “stand out” from the rest of the outputs. In addition to this Masari has better DAA (Difficulty Adjustment Algorithm) which keep transaction times stable against hash rate fluctuations and helps mitigate flash mining issues.
Scalable: One of the main features of Masari is Uncle Mining (using the DECOR+ protocol) and Blocktree Sharding. Both of these features are aimed at solving on-chain scalability issues. So what is Blocktree sharding and Uncle mining and what benefits do they provide?
Blocktree Sharding and Uncle Mining:
Uncle Mining: An Uncle is a block that is considered as stale / orphan. Orphaned blocks are valid blocks but not part of the main chain and it often occurs due to network lag. Basically for solving these blocks you won’t get a reward as they are marked as invalid. But with Uncle Mining you still get reward for these stale blocks. This feature helps decreases centralization incentives and increases overall security.
Blocktree Sharding: The term “sharding” basically means “pruning” so Blocktree Sharding is Blockchain pruning which can be found on Bitcoin. This helps scale the blockchain to accept more transactions at the same time hence faster TPS.
Both Uncle mining and Blocktree sharding are in the works and there is no whitepaper yet on how it will be implemented. But it is expected by Q1 2019. Okay, now let’s see the technical specifications of Masari and get straight into wallet setup guide.
Masari technical specifications:
-
- Coin Name: Masari
- Ticker: MSR
- PoW Algorithm: CryptoNight Fast
- Max Supply: ~18.5 Million (with tail emission)
- Block Reward: Smoothly varying recurrence relation starting at around 35 MSR per block
- Block Time: 120 Seconds
- Difficulty Retarget: Every block
- Genesis block: 2 September 2017
- Bitcoin Forum Announcement: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2159114.0
- Website: https://getmasari.org/
- GitHub: https://github.com/masari-project
- Block Explorer: https://msrchain.net/
- CryptoNote Whitepaper: https://cryptonote.org/whitepaper.pdf
- Ring Confidential Transactions: https://lab.getmonero.org/pubs/MRL-0005.pdf
Okay, its time to setup Masari wallet.
Masari wallet setup
Masari wallet is similar to Monero wallet. After so many wallet setup guides we don’t thing a tutorial is needed for Masari wallet. Anyways new users are looking for such information and so we’ll share a quick guide on setting up Masari wallet.
Masari offers web wallet, mobile wallet and desktop wallet client. The Mobile wallet is still under development; however the web wallet is ready. If you are looking to generate a quick wallet address then head to https://masari.network/ (community member developed) or https://www.masariwallet.com/ (official web wallet) and click on create Masari wallet.
Now the web wallet will generate Masari address, private key / seed and view key. Note that if you lose any of these information you’ll not be able to access your wallets. So make sure to copy all these information and keep it in a secure place. Once you copied all the information, click on login and enter your wallet private seed key to view your web wallet. This is a client side wallet which is encrypted and so all your information will be secure. Anyways if you are looking for a desktop wallet client then you have that option as well.
Desktop wallet (GUI | CLI)
Masari has both GUI and CLI wallet and is similar to using Monero wallet. Also both the GUI and CLI wallet is available for Windows, Mac as well as Linux.
GUI wallet releases: https://github.com/masari-project/masari-wallet-gui/releases/
CLI wallet releases: https://github.com/masari-project/masari/releases/
If you are new and haven’t used CLI wallet (command line wallet) before then we suggest you to use GUI wallet. Using the above link download the latest wallet version to your computer. Once done unzip the pack and within the wallet folder you’ll find masari-wallet-gui.exe. Just click on that and follow the on screen instructions.
- First choose your regional language.
- Next click on create a new wallet.
- Make sure to copy the wallet seed phrase that is shown in the screen.
- Give your wallet a strong password.
- Choose the default Daemon settings and you’re all setup!
Click on use Masari to open your GUI wallet.
Note: Initially the wallet might take a long time to sync. If it doesn’t sync then either use remote nodes or use online wallet.
If you are looking for a more comprehensive guide on GUI and CLI wallets then we suggest you to go through the guides on Loki wallet and Stellite wallet. In addition to this following are few other wallet tutorials which you may find useful.
Additional reads:
- Backup Monero wallet
- Restoring Monero wallet
- Changing Monero blockchain data directory
- Using remote nodes in both GUI and CLI wallet
Now as you have completed the Masari wallet setup you can either start mining or buy coins directly from exchanges.
Soon we’ll make a beginners guide on how to mine Masari coin.
Masari market: Buying and Selling MSR
Masari was launched on September 2017. Just like any other Cryptocurrencies Masari have also faced a lot of market fluctuations. But now the coin value and volume seems steady. The current price of Masari is $0.52 USD (7080 Satoshi). Its market cap is 3.4 Million USD, its circulating supply is 6,458,165 MSR and according to coin market cap Masari is ranked at 670. It is currently being traded on more than 5 exchanges and they are as follows:
- https://www.southxchange.com/Market/Book/MSR/BTC
- https://stocks.exchange/trade/MSR/BTC
- https://tradeogre.com/exchange/BTC-MSR
- https://altex.exchange/markets&pair=BTC_MSR
- https://maplechange.com/markets/msrbtc
- https://crex24.com/exchange/MSR-BTC
Before you buy Masari!
Most CryptoNote coins including Monero have scaling problem and that is what Masari tries to solve. Both the features such as Uncle mining and Blocktree sharding will advance the CryptoNote technology. But do note that there is no whitepaper and neither of them are yet to be implemented. Masari will be a success when these two features gets implemented. But as of now it is just Monero with the exception of a better DAA and mandatory 13 ring size.
Now as you know everything about Masari you might be looking to buy or mine MSR. But before you go note that this post is just a beginners guide and is not any sort of investment advice. So kindly research on your own beforehand. If you have any questions or need help regarding Masari wallet then feel free to post your comment. Hope to see you in a next guide!
