Node projects are one of the hottest trends in DeFi right now.
Before we jump into some of the most popular node projects on different blockchains, let’s first dive into what are nodes and what’s the difference between NaaS and DaaS nodes.
Then let’s take a look at the node projects on my personal watchlist built on these networks:
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Avalanche (AVAX)
- Fantom (FTM)
- Polygon (MATIC)
This article covers the following:
What are nodes and NaaS vs. DaaS
Node projects typically come in two flavors: NaaS or DaaS protocols.
So what’s the difference?
NaaS projects are protocols which provides “nodes as a service” such as projects like Strong Block. These are real validator nodes that support the infrastructure of the blockchain they sit on.
When you buy a Strong node, you are buying into a real validator node that supports the blockchain. Strong has validator nodes on the Ethereum and Polygon networks.
An easy was to understand this is by thinking of NaaS (or Strong Block nodes) as similar to a web hosting company.
When you buy web hosting such as a VPS (virtual private server) to host your website, you are paying a 3rd-party to setup the server hardware, install web server software, and do all the maintenance.
They run your web server and allow it to be accessible to the internet so that you can simply focus on building your website.
NaaS is like the same thing.
All you have to do is purchase the node – and you’re done.
Everything else is handled by the 3rd-party service while you just sit back and collect rewards as passive income.
DaaS, on the other hand, provides “DeFi as a service” which is more like buying into a mutual fund or ETF (exchange traded fund).
These types of investment funds basically pool together all of the funds of its share holders to form a treasury which is used for making large investments. The earnings from these investments are then regularly distributed to its share holders as dividends.
The idea behind DaaS projects is that you are relying on the team behind the protocol to use treasury funds to make good investments rather than doing all of the research and investing yourself.
DaaS keeps DeFi investing simple.
In either case, both NaaS and DaaS protocol allow you to receive daily rewards just for buying and holding nodes.
Most of the emerging node projects seem to be DaaS projects rather than NaaS.
Popular node projects
Now that we understand the difference between NaaS and DaaS protocols, let’s take a look as some interesting node projects.
Here’s a quick look at some of the most popular node projects in DeFi 2022.
STRONG nodes (on ETH chain)
STRONG is a NaaS protocol that runs on Ethereum and Polygon networks. STRONG is considered the innovator of nodes in crypto.
STRONG token price
STRONG pros/cons
- Team is KYC’d
- High rewards rates
- Fast RoT
- High-cost barrier to entry
- Expensive ETH gas fees
- Currently relies on ponzinomics
STRONG rewards and fees
| Node type | STRONG Block node |
| Cost ($STRONG) | 10 |
| Daily rewards ($STRONG) | 0.1 |
| Daily rewards ($STRONG / %) | 1.00% |
| Claim tax | – |
| Monthly fee (paid in ETH) | $15 USD |
| RoT (return on token) period | 100 days |
Official StrongBlock links
THOR nodes (on AVAX chain)
THOR is a DaaS protocol that runs on the AVAX network. THOR is considered the DaaS industry leader and founding member of the UoT (union of transparency).
THOR was originally a fork of the RING protocol, but recently released their V2 contract which was be re-built from the ground up.
Here’s a guide on how to buy THOR nodes.
THOR token price
THOR pros/cons
- Very organized Discord
- High community engagement
- Great communication and transparency
- Sustainability focused
- Fractional nodes / node tiers
- Low-cost barrier to entry
- Staking and farming available
- Founding UoT member
- KYC’d team
- Node cap (TBD)
- P2E game (TBD)
- Large amount of locked liquidity
- Nodes not yet transferrable
- Difficult to track earnings outside of dApp
THOR rewards and fees
| Node type | Heimdall | Freya | Thor | Odin |
| Cost ($THOR) | 1.25 | 6.25 | 12.5 | 78.125 |
| Daily rewards ($THOR) | 0.008 | 0.05 | 0.144 | 1.02 |
| Daily rewards ($THOR / %) | 0.64% | 0.80% | 1.15% | 1.3% |
| Claim tax | 1% | 5% | 8% | 10% |
| Monthly fee (paid in AVAX) | $5 USD | $10 USD | $20 USD | $80 USD |
| RoT (return on token) period | 156 days | 125 days | 87 days | 77 days |
Official THOR Financial links
- Official Thor website
- Official Thor DApp dashboard
- Official Thor Guide
- Official Thor Discord
- Official Thor Twitter
- Official Thor Medium
POWER nodes (on FTM chain)
POWER is a DaaS project on the Fantom network.
As of member of the UoT and with a four node tier offering, Power seems to be following in the footsteps of THOR quite well.
The POWER protocol is growing quickly with nearly 79k nodes created as of early March 2022.
Here’s my guide on how to buy POWER nodes.
POWER token price
POWER pros/cons
- LOW-cost barrier to entry
- Fractional nodes / node tiers
- NO claim tax for compounding
- NO monthly fees
- Team is KYC’d
- Good community engagement
- Hype building up
- Realistic daily rewards
- Member of UoT
- Plans for future sustainability
- Locked liquidity (until June 2022)
- Can’t compound without “god mode”
- Same 10% flat tax across all node tiers
- Minimal marketing / social media following
- No node cap
POWER node rewards and fees
| Node type | Wind | Solar | Hydro | Nuclear |
| Cost ($POWER) | 1 | 5 | 10 | 50 |
| Daily rewards ($POWER) | 0.003 | 0.025 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
| Daily rewards ($POWER %) | 0.3% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 1.4% |
| Claim tax | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| RoT (return on token) period | 333 days | 200 days | 100 days | 72 days |
How to get into POWER
- My how-to guide for buying POWER nodes
- @DazaiCrypto’s how-to guide for buying POWER
Official POWER node links
- Official POWER website
- Official POWER dApp
- Official POWER Medium
- Official POWER Twitter profile
- Official POWER Discord
- POWER on CoinMarketCap
- Official POWER node knowledge base
Additional POWER resources
Quick video explanation on POWER nodes:
POWER node compounding calculators:
HIVE nodes (on Polygon chain)
HIVE is a node project on the Polygon chain (previously known as MATIC network). Each HIVE node is represented by the purchasing and holding a HIVE NFT.
Because these nodes will be minted as NFTs at project launch, they will be re-sellable, which reduces your risk by eliminating the need to hold out for a complete ROI period.
Similar to THOR, HIVE plans to build a revenue-generating treasury by using protocol owned liquidity to make investments in DeFi. This will allow the treasury to pay daily rewards out to all node holders, removing their reliability of ponzinomics to grow.
There is currently a set node cap of 40k nodes. At this point, nodes will only be available for purchase on HIVE’s NFT marketplace.
For every NFT mint, you will also have a random chance of winning a boosted rewards rate which is pretty cool.
What I like about HIVE is that they are building for sustainability from the get go. While rewards rates will be relatively low initially, the majority of their project’s earnings will not go to the rewards pool, but will instead be aimed at growing the treasury.
HIVE pros and cons
- NFT nodes which can be sold
- No claim tax for compounding
- Good community engagement
- Realistic daily rewards
- UoT member (union of transparency)
- Plans for future sustainability
- Great marketing; lots of hype
- Node cap (planned for 40k)
- Whitelist only for launch
- Not yet proven
- High-cost barrier to entry
HIVE / $HNY token prices
(TBD)
How much is a HIVE NFT node?
Each HIVE NFT will cost 10 $HNY tokens at a rate of $100 USD = 1 $HNY. So in the end one HIVE NFT node will cost you $1000 when the project launches.
With each NFT mint, you have a chance a high chan
HIVE rewards and fees
| Node type | HIVE NFT |
| Cost ($HNY) | 10 |
| Daily rewards (base rate for worker bee NFT) | 0.05 $HNY |
| Daily rewards ($HNY / %) | 1.00% |
| Claim tax ($HNY sale tax) | 15% |
| Monthly fee (paid in MATIC) | 3 MATIC |
| RoT (return on token) period | 100 days |
Official Hive Links
Additional HIVE resources
Here’s a brief Twitter thread on HIVE and its goals for sustainability:
1/🐝 Is HIVE INVESTMENTS
— Kenji.hive 🐝 (⚡️, ⚒️) (@VirtualKenji) February 17, 2022
worth the HYPE? 🤑
– What makes it sustainable
– What doesn’t
– And what they’re NOT telling you (YET)
Everything YOU need to understand HIVE
in ONE thread 🧵
👇
Interesting reads on node projects
- $STRONG vs. $THOR: Know Your Nodes – Medium article by The Defi Bum
Node project features comparison
Here’s a basic side-by-side comparison of node features between THOR and POWER:
Token prices of node projects
