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XNodes are coming soon to the ESP Project,.

X-Nodes are similar to Masternodes in function, but more decentralized and don't require minimum balances or experience. There's also more flexibility than with a masternode as you can remove all the coins from the x-node at any time, and start it back up at any time.

Here's a snippet from p.17 of the ESP White Paper that explains it in more detail in the developer's own words:

Source: https://espers.io/download/Espers-White-Paper-v1-Final.pdf _"X-Nodes are not to be mistaken with Masternodes, which is a centralized system where users lock a specific balance in order to participate in additional network features and support them, later rewarding the participant with some of the generated coins from the next block if they qualify. Instead, X-Nodes are completely opt-in meaning that any community member may participate in the system regardless of their current balance or previous experience. This ensures that the decentralization aspect of the Espers project and blockchains in general is not lost once again strengthening the overall network._ _The way an X-Node functions is by having a participant register themselves on the network as an additional data processor allowing them to store additional sidechains that are used to provide additional chain features. Similarly to a Masternode, an X-Node requires a persistent internet connection and penalizes any participant that consistently disconnects to avoid inconsistent connections or any possible hang-ups in service provided to end users. The longer that a user participates in the system the higher their chance become of being part of the compensated X-Nodes which are automatically voted on by the network depending on reliability and data processed. A participating user may then also lock any desired amount of their balance which will effectively become frozen as the participant will no longer be able to stake them until they are unlocked from the X-Node and in doing so have the balance act as a multiplier to the compensation rate provided. Of course the multiplier is on a curve and implements several anti-abuse system such as requiring a cool down period for recently locked coins. Until the cool down is complete a participant will not see a multiplier effect. The smaller the amount locked the longer the user must wait for the lock to cool down at an exponential rate. Larger balances require users to wait less time to cool down while having the multiplier on an exponential curve. This negates the usefulness of significantly larger balances ensuring that users are encouraged to lock larger amounts to be rewarded sooner while penalizing possible “dust” locking to such a degree that it becomes impractical._ _A locked balance will still be able to find the next block in the chain however any coins created are diverted (after lock cool down) to a participant’s selected feature vote. Voting on the network in this manner is crucial to establishing rapid feature development by the project team and raises community support. Participants may also choose simply not to vote however the multiplier aspect again is penalized as this creates a drop in support for new network features. Any participant may submit a requested feature to be voted on by the network for future development, however when the voting round ends any feature voting that was not selected is pooled together and split into two section that are then used independently. The first half is split into sections that are then trickled back into the network as fees paid allowing miners and stakers alike to receive a slight “bonus” until the balance runs out while the second half is put towards the winning voted upon features. Users may unlock their balance at any time while participating in the X-Node system even if the balance has not completed the cool down period giving users complete control over their experience. Similarly, if a participant opts-out at any given time, just like when they had opted in, the participant will incur another cool down now between deactivation and allowed reactivation time. Furthermore the X-Node system is intuitive and single-click removing possible user-error that often occurs with similar features such as Masternodes and replacing it with user interest/immersion. This also takes a considerable load away from support needs, network inconsistencies, and the overall hassle of operating or participating in the system."_ Useful links: DON'T BUY ESP FROM YOBIT EXCHANGE! Buy on CoinExchange: https://www.coinexchange.io/market/ESP/BTC?r=0ddaa57f Official Website: http://espers.io Discord Channel: https://discordapp.com/invite/hhYP8yT