nodes are online, responding
and even at the correct block height
Masternodes can provide any number of extra services to the network. As a proofofconcept, our first implementation included Darksend and InstantX. By utilizing what we call proofofservice, we can require that these nodes are online, responding and even at the correct block height. Bad actors could also run Masternodes, but not provide any of the quality service that is required of the rest of the network.
To reduce the possibility of people using the system to their advantage nodes must ping the rest of the network to ensure they remain active. This work is done by the Masternode network by selecting 2 quorums per block. Quorum A checks the service of Quorum B each block. Quorum A are the closest nodes to the current block hash, while Quorum B are the furthest nodes from said hash.
Masternode A (1) checks Masternode B (rank 2300)
Masternode A (2) checks Masternode B (rank 2299)
Masternode A (3) checks Masternode B (rank 2298)
All work done to check the network to prove that nodes are active is done by the Masternode network itself. Approximately 1% of the network will be checked each block. This results in the entire network being checked about six times per day. In order to keep this system trustless, we select nodes randomly via the Quorum system, then we also require a minimum of six violations in order to deactivate a node.
In order to trick this system, an attacker will need to be selected six times in a row. Otherwise, violations will be cancelled out by the system as other nodes are selected by the quorum system