Are masternodes even still a thing in 2024? The last time masternodes have been hot was in 2016-2017 with projects like Dash. The cryptocurrency industry has moved to staking now — which makes a bit more sense because it's pretty similar to dividends with stocks.
I'm generally late to the party. I'll probably get into staking in 2031
Experimenting with masternodes on a VM can be cool! The number depends on your machine's power, but you can usually run several. Returns vary, so check each coin's potential gains. It's a mix of tech fun and potential profits and worth a shot if you enjoy both 
That's pretty much what I'm looking for. Really not concerned with the profits too much, as the machine is just sitting there most of the time anyways. But, yeah... just looking for something to nerd out on this weekend.
If anyone else has any feedback on coins to avoid, I'd appreciate it. My first one will probably be something with a extremely low entry cost, just to dip my toes in the waters.