Staking Rewards is providing this tutorial in collaboration with the Incognito Team. We hope to make the Incognito staking experience for you as easy as possible. 



Did you know that you can run a virtual Node on your computer, or on a cloud instance? Below, you’ll find the instructions to hosting a vNode so you can join the Incognito Network and start earning crypto!&nbsp;



(Block rewards are paid out in PRV and transacted currencies, such as pBTC, pETH, pBNB and more.) 



<h1 class="wp-block-heading">Step 1: Set up your server</h1>



You can run Incognito on a low-cost server. If you don’t have a server yet, it’s really simple and takes just a couple of minutes. You can set up an account with a VPS provider or a cloud service provider like<a href="https://www.digitalocean.com/"> DigitalOcean</a>,<a href="https://cloud.google.com/"> Google Cloud</a>,<a href="https://aws.amazon.com/"> AWS</a>, <a href="https://www.vultr.com/">&nbsp;Vultr</a>, or<a href="https://www.linode.com/"> Linode</a>. For Incognito, it is highly recommended to set up your server with a DigitalOcean Instance.



Useful instructions:



<ul>
<li><a href="https://incognito.org/t/how-to-launch-and-connect-your-aws-instance/61/2">How to set up an AWS account?</a></li>



<li><a href="https://incognito.org/t/how-to-launch-and-connect-your-google-cloud-instance/64">How to set up a Google Cloud Instance?</a></li>



<li><a href="https://incognito.org/t/how-to-launch-and-connect-your-digital-ocean-instance/67/3">How to set up a Digital Ocean Instance?</a></li>



<li><a href="https://incognito.org/t/how-to-launch-and-connect-your-vultr-instance/358">How to set up a Vultr Instance?</a></li>
</ul>



The minimum server requirements are:&nbsp;



4GB RAM



4 CPUs



100GB SSD



For example, if you use a Google Cloud Instance, the Machine Type should be “n1-highcpu-4”.



Remember: SAVE YOUR SERVER EXTERNAL IP ADDRESS. You’ll need it in Step 5.



<h1 class="wp-block-heading">Step 2: Create your account</h1>



Download the Incognito App:



<a href="https://incognito.onelink.me/I7zE/howtohostavirtualnode">Android</a>



<a href="https://incognitochain.onelink.me/iv7V/howtohostavirtualnode">iOS</a>



Open the app and it will automatically generate a wallet for you.



Tap on Settings (Gear icon).



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/iYfflC0W7bFKmhhtPXgR0S4ZqVQbkAtfX3NzAVFOu8iRiYGCuCw3TEUeT1F4b6Jd70quphF5qUrTEGNekaTnUZRd7LL2jzEyLhc-Bj1FoMFkt7AD-1aUhAw8Ht2JLg_hRXkxMJAY" alt=""/></figure>



Tap on “Key” icon to get the details of your account:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/JT4GVrhORom5aBE-941_94Qo72_Y18zd3mxfu-gLG0O0fYLgomCI9yaBUgFIDqq94h4ITN6wYqln63JVxAZ32aAV55ddEku9pyW6TqyKI8lVLCbVzi4e0bhKgfIBPpA77v0_i4AT" alt=""/></figure>



Copy VALIDATOR KEY (keep it safe somewhere!). You’ll need it in step 3.



<h1 class="wp-block-heading">Step 3: Run Incognito</h1>



In your terminal:



Run the command line below. Replace validator_key with your VALIDATOR KEY (from step 2).



curl https://node.incognito.org/run.sh &gt; run.sh &amp;&amp; sed -i s/xxx/validator_key/ run.sh &amp;&amp; sudo bash run.sh



If you see the following errors, just ignore them. You’re doing good.



Error: No such container: inc_miner



Error: No such container: inc_kovan



Error response from daemon: network with name inc_net already exists



For the curious, because Incognito is integrated with Ethereum (so you can send ETH and ERC20 tokens privately), its error messages show up here. There’s nothing much we can do about it. Move on..:)



Advanced setup: customize the port of your Node



The default rpc port is 9334 and node port is 9433. To change this, please follow these steps:



<ol>
<li>In your terminal:</li>
</ol>



<ul>
<li>Open the file<a href="https://node.incognito.org/run.sh"> run.sh 1</a> by this command:</li>
</ul>



nano run.sh



<ul>
<li>Add the following param in docker command (replace node_port, rpc_port to correspond to the port you want):</li>
</ul>



docker run … -p &lt;node_port&gt;:&lt;node_port&gt; -p &lt;rpc_port&gt;:&lt;rpc_port&gt; …



<ul>
<li>Then run the following command (replace rpc_port, node_port with yours):</li>
</ul>



rpc_port=9334 node_port=9433 ./run.sh



<ol>
<li>On the app:</li>
</ol>



Separate the IP of your Virtual Node and the customized port by a colon before adding the Node. For example:&nbsp;



123.456.7.8:9335 



<h1 class="wp-block-heading">Step 4: Get Privacy Token (PRV) to stake</h1>



Privacy (PRV) is the native coin of the Incognito Network. To become a validator, you’ll need to stake exactly 1,750 PRV. You can purchase PRV on the Incognito pDEX using BTC, ETH, BNB,&#8230;.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/vo9lzKj8hp8qTUdt2Qm45pkhxEYb71jQCs1huwf-bz9okP95c8LtoB2garIaO9VKUG-BofxtKS7O8D4Eokuft-h0kZG-eebGk7EFKGCsxn5qKxM_gDssb5rinpzokawHIvZFtakn" alt=""/></figure>



How to buy PRV:<a href="https://incognito.org/t/incognito-pdex-how-it-works-and-how-to-use-it/63/2"> pDex Instruction 8</a>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading">Step 5: Monitor your node</h1>



You can easily monitor your Incognito nodes right from your phone. In the Incognito Wallet app, click the “Nodes” button on the bottom bar.



Tap “Add a Virtual Node”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/DBuzc6pDb2U5zSihaSg0lbXgybt_3dujnuRvz_xWRUEVWkgsPx-u_pKGYBI9vgMP-BfNrdl_SURGPL-Xa-hJDvt0WL8UDdlV9oIgiE45ucXgRuecoUETyogCehdkFDvKmBqSB6na" alt=""/></figure>



Enter your Node’s IP address (from step 1), then click “Add”.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Wtj8A1SmBuqPUkbON6MaiUe8YWtko-Xh1XVEvYER6f7bb-WCUWfYAHdAJquocJoLbNs9Lli2k84rT8nwZ8sQBw-rxpgsfElFnJstbQTFpFoYQgMiBgs13IX7eEAx_zEubG3fczE8" alt=""/></figure>



The app locates your associated account accordingly.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/2dCRfUgPDKaeW0emmRip5zVpwti1HhHzlFXmNCiqznFtTPOtOEb9rj4ceoAzHDHLoSrPI3iOBKsy1jkHoJUHPzmHc4ot4Mps8H5fpD_Bip2JhZkYQ6apevHaZYhzNi5FhtkB7xV0" alt=""/></figure>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading">Step 6: Stake</h1>



Almost there! Now, that you’ve got PRV, all you have to do is stake. Remember, you need to stake 1,750 PRV to begin earning rewards.



Tap on the Node you want to stake.



Tap “Stake” to start staking.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/255y8N3sypSjNnsee5K4bQDYNXfSZ1Mr0JJ3UulHYyPLMxbz4X4-A4DFV2jD_CynmR0pRdcLlgUHOF7-jyOKMkB6MkiG8X3ERBmdtvIe-rD9reQEx4klC7dHmDlD1-FS0PBlk-lZ" alt=""/></figure>



Review your information. Then tap “Stake 1750 PRV”.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/NrGsXhFq686a9XekXdzpRYM7vReTUbyEt9W9h7KDb4lByz305a0pHKeUqSP1qWherYS8d6yMleTniELHflIDCLorK9gFA5HpYc1iA1lkbFkMYtoxKXt0T8IWGd16NRd39u3nUaRw" alt=""/></figure>



Let it load.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/SWQnUW1Te_o-Zv_5ZdbyuPATKIk7w7X4w42gyUT1FxFIWS-BAfwBYeUN25Yh1YzowgwgIh4qFRT1VTogUTt078vQ2J5EkfzLYiFUwy0yBOUqPhLn7rsDfPnmPEVrpgg0mWAoz3Du" alt=""/></figure>



Once it’s done, it will bring you back to this screen:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/ax7oG8qbJxkh5-ZEB-2qW0XY8-onxzk347q_95HvZ2T6JNxXMUTSMGy-W23QFt2ugcpB6zMd3FzH0A2FfwjJu5cUaeAlCj4mvZYsm_l21q3PTL6Gskk-PgnQLos-f0agmLCRdxDY" alt=""/></figure>



Wait 2-5 minutes, and then refresh the app.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/OC6ZxT6e84IVazJJJONyPU2Q1toYJXbK4EdUy-LVMkzJ8cNJ8AcamYa-NSzYR_OE4yil8Hr6jSMpklLBoLsD7A5VcVOdew72UJE3wxELnhvNaRzf5tKV1EGbXc_XTfDVo4wnlENu" alt=""/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/B3IB-kltMT0g0-r3HsZ-JC32aeWYWPnWNUAwgJMpxb1A-3Wrpf1j9wKzbXB-fMgWgnbb6EhWRbdeDs1GI2OZwukjLVPJVAWwbg2dKkONcqrBgWI_F66Flum-QNPVaM7-S53ysn3X" alt=":slight_smile:"/></figure>



Congrats! You’re officially part of the network. Welcome to Incognito 



IMPORTANT NOTE: Please keep your private key safe because anyone who has it can access your funds. You may also need it if you have to re-install the mobile app.



For a detailed description, check out:<a href="https://incognito.org/t/how-to-back-up-your-private-key/235"> How to back up your private key?</a>

How to host a Virtual Incognito Node