Making Profit with Decred - Beginner Friendly

In this guide I will show you how to make money with Decred. I will explain how to use Proof of Stake (PoS) pools. If you are totally new to Decred you will have to learn a lot of new things. No worries, most of your questions will be answered in the Links and Forum Discussions that I will refer to. In case you have any specific questions, feel free to reach out to me.

Let's get started!

!!! This blog is no longer active. Last update: 22 April 2017 !!!

Background

Decred uses a hybrid PoW/PoS system. The process of creating blockchain consensus is thus balanced between miners and stakeholders. Miners 'mine' to validate blocks, and stakeholders 'vote' to decide if the block is indeed valid. Both miners and stakeholders can count on a reward. Even users with small amounts of coins will be able to participate in creating consensus by joining PoS pools. For a detailed explanation of how the hybrid PoW/PoS system of Decred works, check out: https://wiki.decred.org/Introduction#Hybrid_Proof-of-Work_Proof-of-Stake

Rationale

How do we make profit? We will invest our DCR funds in the PoS process by joining a PoS pool. The PoS process is designed as a lottery with a guaranteed reward. How do we invest? By buying lottery tickets. The tickets will grant us voting rights via the PoS pool. Each time one of our tickets is called to vote on a block, we will obtain a reward after the vote is confirmed. The pool is always online, so we will never miss a vote. It is designed in a way that both you and the pool have voting rights, so you can leave your wallet online as a backup to the pool if you want.

Some forum discussions on whether PoS voting is profitable or not can be found here:
https://forum.decred.org/threads/are-you-still-purchasing-at-current-price-4-55-dcr.840/
https://forum.decred.org/threads/so-how-the-reward-work-for-pos-exactly.1295/

Getting Started

The first step is to get yourself some DCR funds. If you don't have any coins (or stake) yet, please follow this blog post on how to obtain DCR. If you have a wallet with funds available, write down your seed and let's get started with setting up a desktop wallet. The command line interface is very easy once you've used it. This forum guide explains everything in great detail:
https://forum.decred.org/threads/brief-guide-setting-up-mainnet-wallet-airdop-included-with-basic-commands-os-neutral.478/

IMPORTANT! Download the latest software: https://github.com/decred/decred-release/releases
(Ignore step 2 of the forum guide as it links to the first version of the Decred software)

Follow step 3-7 of the forum guide to set up your wallet by importing your seed. After unpacking the software in a map dedicated to Decred, hold Shift and Rightclick in that map to open a new command line window. The commands that you will need are listed below (my comments between brackets). Hit enter after each line.

In command window #1:

dcrd -u [...] -P [...] 

(choose username and password for the dcrdaemon) 

Example: dcrd -u noahdcrd -P mynewpass1@

Your deamon should now start downloading the Decred blockchain.

IMPORTANT! Let the blockchain sync completely before moving to the next step. For the most recent block height you can check: https://mainnet.decred.org/

In command window #2:

dcrwallet --create

- The wallet will ask you to input a private passphrase for your wallet. While entering, the passphrase will look blank, but actually you are typing (remember this). Confirm by typing it again.
- Now, it will ask you if you want to add an additional encryption layer for public data. Say 'yes', type the public passphrase and confirm by typing again (it will look blank as well).
- Next, when it asks if you have an existing wallet seed, enter 'yes' and type the 33-word text carefully (without any mistakes or CasE eRrOrs).
It should now say: The wallet is successfully created.

In command window #2:

dcrwallet -u [...] -P [...] --walletpass [publicpassphrase] --dcrdusername=[user] --dcrdpassword=[pass] 

(choose a user and pass for the wallet, and fill out the other data)

Example: dcrwallet -u noahwallet -P mynewpass2# --walletpass mypubpassphra --dcrdusername=noahdcrd --dcrdpassword=mynewpass1@

Your wallet should now start processing the Decred blockchain.

In command window #3:

dcrctl -u [user] -P [pass] --wallet getbalance 

(to check if your wallet funds are correct)

Example: dcrctl -u noahwallet -P mynewpass2#  --wallet getbalance

Congratulations, you are ready to start! Keep your command windows running as we proceed.

The PoS pools

Now, we need to sign up for a PoS pool. Here is a list of PoS pools with a dedicated forum page:

http://stakepool.eu
http://pool.d3c.red
https://dcrstakes.com
https://dcr.stakepool.net

https://stakepool.dcrstats.com 
https://stake.decredbrasil.com

For updates and more information: https://forum.decred.org/forums/pos-pools/

Go to the website of your favorite pool and create an account. If you have registered at the stake pool, it will tell you to generate a public key address. Follow the steps as displayed. The commands that you'll need are listed below. From now on you should stop using your web wallet, to prevent syncing problems between web and desktop (command line) wallets.

In command window #3:

dcrctl -u [user] -P [pass] --wallet getnewaddress

 dcrctl -u [u] -P [p] --wallet validateaddress [yournewdaddress]

If you copy and paste the 'pubkeyaddr' into the form on the website, it will generate a P2SH address that you can use to purchase tickets via the PoS pool. Go to the Tickets tab and follow the instructions. The pool has generated a script that you will need to import.

In command window #3:

dcrctl -u [u] -P [p] --wallet walletpassphrase [privatepassphrase] 1800 

(this unlocks your wallet for 1800 seconds, or 0.5 hour).

dcrctl -u [u] -P [p] --wallet importscript [yourRedeemScript]

Once your script has been successfully imported, you are ready to go!

Buying tickets

Personally, I always buy my tickets manually. This allows me to have full control over my spending. This command allows you to buy tickets and transfer it to your account in the PoS pool.

In command window #3:

dcrctl -u [u] -P [p] --wallet purchaseticket "default" [maxTicketPrice] [minConfirmation] [P2SHAddress]

Example: dcrctl -u noahwallet -P mynewpass2# --wallet purchaseticket "default" 20 1 Dcsgdz1randomexampleaddressVrzf

In the example we are buying a ticket for maximum 20 DCR. The transaction has to be confirmed by exactly one block before we can make a new transaction or buy a new ticket. During this time your funds will be send to a change address that you control. The ticket price will then be send to the pool address, and the remainder of your funds will be transferred back. During this time, you won't be able to buy new tickets, as you have no spendable balance. After the block is confirmed and your balance is back, you can use it again to purchase new tickets. Determine the best price to buy by checking the current, average, and estimated price here: https://dcrstats.com/

Final remarks

It is good to know that this pool absolutely cannot control your funds. It does not have your private keys, so there is no possibility. By using a PoS pool, you don't need to keep you wallet up and running after you've bought the tickets: the pool will vote on your behalf and your reward will be transferred automatically. All the current PoS pools are operated by community members. This way Decred will remain a truly Decentralised cryptocurrency.

Some useful forum threads that will help to answer many of your further questions:
https://forum.decred.org/threads/compile-list-of-useful-pos-commands.807/
https://forum.decred.org/threads/pos-mining-faq.1305/
https://docs.decred.org/mining/proof-of-stake/
https://wiki.decred.org/Solo_Stake_Mining

As mentioned, feel free to contact me via Twitter if you have any unanswered questions.

If this guide has been useful to you, please consider to donate! Thank you in advance.

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