<div class="text-justify">Some of you might know that I recently wrote about <a href="https://steemit.com/nixplatform/@dacx/nix-platform-to-switch-from-pow-to-pos-increasing-network-security" target="_blank">NIX Platform switching from PoW to PoS</a> and guess what, the test net is already up and running, waiting to be, well, <em>tested</em>. This brings <a href="https://nixplatform.io/" target="_blank">NIX</a> closer to achieving yet another goal: private cross chain interoperability. <br>

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![NIX_logo_light10x.png](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmdTHebJVtdkxEMxzgKvNv17hbGKzt3qY4hH1whedcewAJ)

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## Announcement
Lead developer jackieboy announced in [Discord](https://discord.gg/agAsvQY) that everyone who wishes to test the upcoming features now has the chance to do so:
![Selection_068.png](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmWwbiJVupJnSAEkwkYd1gFQQJaxqL4KQizrmhYwrASHQL)

As I am personally very excited, I decided to do just that. This article is to guide you through accessing the testnet and to showcase the new features as experienced by yours truly.

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## Building the new wallet with POS 3.0 
Let's go ahead and build the new wallet. Please be careful that you don't replace your main net wallet (please create a backup of your `wallet.dat` and `ghostnode.conf` just in case). You can either pull the source files from [here](https://github.com/NixPlatform/NixCore/tree/pos30) or just [download this .zip archive](https://github.com/NixPlatform/NixCore/archive/pos30.zip) (recommended for beginners). Extract the NixCore-pos30 folder if you opted for the latter option and skip the first three steps. Alright, let's get to it! Open a terminal (navigate to the NixCore-pos30 folder if you chose the archive) and type:
```
git clone https://github.com/NixPlatform/NixCore.git
cd NixCore
git checkout pos30

./autogen.sh
./configure
make CFLAGS=-fPIC
```

So far so good! We now start the wallet with the `-testnet` parameter. To do that, we use the following command (assuming we are in the NixCore folder):

```
./src/qt/nix-qt -testnet
``` 

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We are now welcomed by this wallet (the new UI is not yet implemented here):
![NIX Core - Wallet [testnet]_069.png](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmaE11gFVXSrprcZk1qu7wWp4s5Au9vAT75DSNCP3VJa7q)
Note: The NIX shown here are "test NIX". You can get yours by requesting them in the Discord #testnet channel.

We can now try the two new big features: **staking** and the **ghost vault**.

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## Staking

Staking allows users to earn passive income by, well, *staking* their coins. To stake your coins, simply open your wallet and encrypt it. The encryption process is finished by a restart of nix-qt. You will now see the option **Unlock For Staking** in the **Settings** menu in the top left corner. You will be prompted with the following pop-up. After you entered your wallet password, the green icon in the bottom right corner indicates that you are indeed staking.

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<img src="https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmSVXb1tYE6TvdUG3qmYQCZDffL6FGAJ679xYExeuMgmrE" />
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<div class=pull-right>
<img src="https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmcUs9DVQZPcQpj948iBeE6n5P6y9ANuA73HPTszLDcamQ" />
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<br><br>
You are now successfully staking! You can verify that by opening your console and typing <strong>getstakinginfo</strong>.
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<div class=pull-right>
<img src="https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmTwGTH8wokPQjiVtkL2aV5RPqegfxJtHTM3ZDJXQvVLyx" />
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</div>

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After staking for a longer period of time, you will receive your rewards. They look just like Ghost Node rewards in your wallet and are proportional to your stake:

![stake.png](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmRbc7LAjBg8tjUgjjpMLsAuWXP52qiBWejD5UoiHRAUJe)
Image courtesy of jackieboy, testnet wallet.

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## Ghost Vault

![Selection_070.png](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmawUhshownAvZBeoKQ67SskTqeAkqkFrqJ9hVb9AjP3Na) We hit this tab and are promptly taken over to the GV interface. 

Choose the sub-tab **Ghost NIX** and enter the amount you want to *ghost*. For this test, I have *ghosted* 42NIX. [This](http://159.65.70.173:3001/tx/baf825ef41cc7bbf76368b5494a3e57a4390624c8adfba132790a3f2dced93af) is how *ghosting* looks on the blockchain explorer. After the tx has been confirmed, the wallet shows as follows:
![Selection_071.png](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmVtoofuD8DDBoRNzZrwN4P6Ph6f9fpAWrfVpXfkqt4iT3)

The *ghosted* NIX can now be converted back to regular NIX. You can either decide to send them back to your own wallet, or to any other address. I created a new address for this and *un-ghosted* the 42NIX:

![Selection_072.png](https://ipfs.busy.org/ipfs/QmaRcrHwettkVy5MQrPDWTfkMzErrjA7FznGepouVm1qHc)

The explorer shows that address [2XAx7P79fJX8EfyopuduJP9n49RvacAdp7](http://159.65.70.173:3001/tx/076800a47e2f1f6240405f42a03aa9b29b19791b1a3266dbae6d29b15afee5ca) has indeed received the 42NIX. No link between those two addresses can be established. Normally, you would *ghost* a multiple of 10 NIX and then *un-ghost* however many NIX you want to send to your recipient.

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## Issues and Parting Words  

While testing, I have encountered a few minor visual errors as well as reindexing problems. Thanks to the #testnet Discord channel and the fast continuous support, they were promptly resolved. This can be verified by inspecting the [commit history](https://github.com/NixPlatform/NixCore/commits/pos30) for the POS3.0 branch on GitHub.

Summing up, I can say that NIX is a project with innovative ideas as well as actual development. Once the changes are live on the main net, NIX will be the first coin to run POS3.0, a privacy layer and btc core 0.16. This is just the first step towards reaching cross chain interoperability. Instead of competing with other coins, NIX enhances them.

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this article but do hold coins.

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Should any questions arise, please feel free to comment them down below. I will answer them all!
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