Stasher News FAQStasher News FAQ

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last updated: August 30, 2026

New Stashers Start HereNew Stashers Start Here

What is Stasher News?What is Stasher News?

Stasher News is a forum similar to Reddit or Hacker News. Unlike on Reddit or Hacker News where you earn "upvotes" or "karma" that are not redeemable or transferable, on Stasher News you earn Monero (XMR) for creating and curating content.

What is Monero?What is Monero?

Monero is a privacy-focused digital currency. Its smallest unit is the piconero, equal to 0.000000000001 XMR (one trillionth of a Monero). On Stasher News, amounts are shown as XMR for readability.

On Stasher News, all payments are denominated and delivered peer-to-peer on the Monero network, and nothing is taken from tips along the way.

What happens if I don't attach a wallet?What happens if I don't attach a wallet?

You can still use Stasher News without a wallet: you can browse, post and comment. However, tips are paid peer-to-peer, so if another stasher tips your content and you don't have a wallet attached, the tip goes to the platform rewards wallet instead of to you — you only receive tips once you attach a wallet.

What are tips?What are tips?

Tips are peer-to-peer payments on the Monero network. When you tip a post or comment, you pay the author directly from your own wallet — the platform never holds or takes a cut of tips.

What are turfs?What are turfs?

Every post on Stasher News belongs to a turf. Turfs are communities where stashers gather to discuss shared interests and help them grow and thrive.

They are founded by stashers who pay a small monthly, yearly, or one-time fee.

See the section about turfs for details.

Do I need Monero to use Stasher News?Do I need Monero to use Stasher News?

No. You don't need Monero to get started. Browsing is free, and posting fees deter spam and fund curator rewards. Each post costs 0.001 XMR until your account has stacked at least 0.01 XMR in tips and is at least 7 days old; once you're established, the first 5 posts each month are free and later ones cost 0.001 XMR. Comments are free for the first 5 per month (15 once your account is established); beyond that, each comment costs 0.001 XMR. Anonymous posts cost 0.01 XMR and anonymous comments cost 0.003 XMR.

You'll need a Monero wallet to receive tips and rewards, since all payments are delivered peer-to-peer on the Monero network.

How do I earn XMR on Stasher News?How do I earn XMR on Stasher News?

There are four ways to earn XMR on Stasher News:

1. Tips

To earn XMR via tips from fellow stashers peer-to-peer, you need to attach a wallet that can receive payments. Once you're set up, share interesting links, discussion prompts or simply engage with the community in comments. If another stasher finds value in what you shared, you will receive real XMR when they tip you.

2. Weekly rewards

Stashers can also earn XMR via weekly rewards. Stasher News distributes a share of the revenue it collects from posting and comment fees, turf fees, boosts and tips to wallet-less authors — plus all downvotes and donations — back to the stashers who curated the best content of the week: the tippers of the top-ranked posts and comments. Distribution happens every Monday at 00:00 UTC, and payouts are sent on-chain to your attached wallet. You can see the current pool and the next distribution time on the rewards page.

3. Referrals

Another way to earn XMR is via referrals. If a stasher signs up through one of your referral links, you will earn 10% of their weekly rewards in perpetuity. A referral link is any link that ends with /r/<your name>. Your posts, comments and profile are also implicit referral links. They don't need to have the /r/<your name> suffix.

To make referring stashers easy, clicking on ... next to a post or comment and selecting 'copy link' will copy it as a referral link by default. You can disable this in your settings.

4. Turfs

Founding a turf is the last way to put XMR to work, though it is not a recommended way to earn XMR for new stashers: you need to pay for the turf in advance. Turf founders do earn revenue: 100% of the posting fees, comment fees, and boosts paid in their turf (the standard fee plus any premium they set) go directly to their registered Monero wallet. Cross-posts and cases where the payer has no wallet attached still pay the platform rewards pool.

WalletsWallets

Stasher News is non-custodial: the platform never holds your money, and all payments are sent directly on the Monero network. To send and receive XMR, you attach a single wallet by providing its address and private view key.

How do I attach a wallet?How do I attach a wallet?

Click here or click on your name and select 'wallets'. You'll be asked for your Monero address and your private view key.

I can't find my wallet. Can I not attach one?I can't find my wallet. Can I not attach one?

If you can't find your wallet, there is still a high chance that you can attach one — any Monero wallet with a receiving address and a view key works, including Cake Wallet, Monerujo, and Feather.

You can also ask for help in the saloon.

Why do I provide my address and a view key?Why do I provide my address and a view key?

Your Monero address tells others how to send you coins; it's public and carries no risk.

We ask for a private view key so we can watch your address for incoming tips and credit them to your account as they confirm on-chain. A view key lets us see that coins arrive — it can never spend. Spending keys never touch our servers and always stay in your wallet.

Is my view key stored safely?Is my view key stored safely?

Your view key is stored encrypted with a master key that only the Monero hosting environment holds, and it can only read incoming funds — never send. You keep full control of spending at all times.

How do I pay for things on Stasher News?How do I pay for things on Stasher News?

Fees and payments are always paid directly from your own wallet: the site shows you a monero: URI (as a QR code and a link), and you pay it from any Monero wallet. This covers posting and comment fees, turf fees, boosts, downvotes, donations and bounty funding. The platform never takes custody of your money.

What happens to tips sent to me once my wallet is attached?What happens to tips sent to me once my wallet is attached?

Tips are paid peer-to-peer to your registered address and credited to your account once they confirm on-chain. There is no receiving threshold — every tip lands in your wallet in full.

How do badges work?How do badges work?

Badges next to a stasher's name signal activity:

• a verified check means the stasher has attached a wallet
• a gold coin means they tipped content in the last 24 hours
• a flame means they have an active daily streak

TurfsTurfs

Turfs are communities on Stasher News. Each turf has a founder who acts as a steward of the community, and anyone can post content to the turf that best fits the topic of their post.

How do I found a turf?How do I found a turf?

Click here or scroll to the bottom in the turf dropdown menu and click on 'create'.

How much does it cost to found a turf?How much does it cost to found a turf?

Founding a turf costs either 0.02 XMR/month, 0.2 XMR/year, or 1 XMR as a one-time payment.

If a turf founder chooses either the monthly or yearly payment options, they can select 'remind me to renew' to get a notification when the next turf fee is due. You have a 5-day grace period after the end of your current billing period to pay the fee and keep your turf.

If you switch from monthly to yearly billing, you pay the yearly fee at the switch and your year starts when your current paid coverage ends. Switching from yearly to monthly simply starts monthly billing once your paid year ends.

Do I earn XMR from turfs?Do I earn XMR from turfs?

Yes. As a turf founder, you receive 100% of the posting fees, comment fees, and boosts paid in your turf — the standard fee plus any premium you set — paid directly to your registered Monero wallet. This applies when the payment is to a single turf you don't own and you have a wallet attached; cross-posts to multiple turfs and cases where the payer has no wallet attached still pay the platform rewards pool, which is distributed weekly to the best curators.

Why do I sometimes see higher fees?Why do I sometimes see higher fees?

Fees are the same across all turfs, but they increase by 1.5x for repetitive posts and self-reply comments to prevent spam.

As an example, if it costs 0.001 XMR for a stasher to make a post, it will cost 0.0015 XMR if they make a second post within 10 minutes of their first post. If they post a third time within 10 minutes of their first one, it will cost 0.0023 XMR.

This 1.5x fee escalation continues until 10 minutes have elapsed, and will reset to the base fee when the stasher goes 10 minutes or more without posting or replying to themselves in a comment thread.

Are media uploads free?Are media uploads free?

Uploads up to 10 MB are free. Uploads larger than 10 MB cost 0.001 XMR per additional 10 MB, and uploads without being logged in always cost 0.001 XMR.

Upload fees are applied when you submit your post or comment.

Are media uploads stored forever?Are media uploads stored forever?

Yes, if it was used in a post or comment. Uploads that haven't been used within 7 days in a post or comment are deleted (24 hours for anonymous uploads).

I no longer want to pay for my turf. What should I do?I no longer want to pay for my turf. What should I do?

Make sure 'remind me to renew' is turned off in your turf settings. After that, simply ignore the new bill at the end of your current billing period.

After the grace period of 5 days, the turf will be archived. Stashers can still see archived posts and comments, but they will not be able to create new posts or comments until someone pays for that turf again.

How do I bring back a turf?How do I bring back a turf?

Enter the name of the turf you want to bring back in the turf form. If the turf indeed existed before, you will see a hint below the input field.

The info text mentions that you will inherit all existing content.

Other than that, the process to bring back an archived turf is the same as founding a new turf.

Can I share the costs and revenue of a turf with someone?Can I share the costs and revenue of a turf with someone?

Currently, turfs can only have a single founder, though ownership of a turf can be transferred to another stasher.

What do the turf stats in my profile mean?What do the turf stats in my profile mean?

The stats for each turf are the following:

• stashed: how much XMR stashers tipped on content in this turf
• spent: how much XMR has been spent in this turf on downvotes, posting fees and turf fees
• items: the number of posts and comments in the turf

TipsTips

How do I tip on Stasher News?How do I tip on Stasher News?

To send a tip, click the tip button next to a post or comment. A modal opens prefilled with your default tip amount; press 'generate' and pay the monero: URI from your wallet. You can tip a post or comment an unlimited number of times.

How do I change my default tip amount?How do I change my default tip amount?

You can change your default tip amount in your settings.

How do I tip a custom amount?How do I tip a custom amount?

In the tip modal, type the amount of XMR you'd like to tip instead of using the default, or pick one of the preset amounts.

What are random tips?What are random tips?

Instead of tipping the same default amount each time, the 'random tips' setting allows you to select a range from which the tip amount will be randomly chosen for each tip. This leads to greater privacy and a more fun tipping experience.

What are boosts?What are boosts?

A boost is exactly like a tip for ranking purposes: you pay XMR to permanently raise an item's rank by the amount of your boost, 1:1 with tips. Unlike tips, boosts are paid to the platform: 30% of every boost funds the weekly curator rewards pool and 70% supports the platform.

Do tips help content rank higher?Do tips help content rank higher?

Yes, in hot ranking:

• the amount stashers tipped a post or comment
• the time elapsed since the creation of the item

Tipping an item with more XMR gives you more influence on an item's ranking, and tips are weighted by your web-of-trust score.

Tips themselves are peer-to-peer: 100% of a tip goes to its author and counts toward the item's ranking.

Why should I tip?Why should I tip?

Here are a few reasons to tip content on Stasher News:

1. To influence the ranking of content on the site

More tips means more people will see a particular piece of content.

2. To acknowledge the value of the content other people create (value for value)

Sending someone a like or an upvote incurs no cost to you, and therefore these metrics can easily be gamed by bots. Sending someone XMR incurs a direct cost to you, which gives the recipient a meaningful reward and acts as a clear signal that you found a particular piece of content to be valuable.

3. To earn XMR from the weekly rewards pool

You can earn XMR from the weekly rewards pool by tipping content that ends up performing well. The amount you receive is proportional to the amount of XMR you tipped, how early you tipped the week's best content, and your trust level.

Can I donate XMR to Stasher News?Can I donate XMR to Stasher News?

Yes. Every week, Stasher News distributes a share of the revenue it collects from posting and comment fees, turf fees, boosts and tips to wallet-less authors — plus all downvotes and donations — back to the stashers who made the best contributions.

To donate XMR directly to the Stasher News rewards pool, or to see the rewards that will be distributed to stashers on Monday, click here. When you donate, you choose the split: 100% to the curator rewards pool, 100% to platform operations, or anywhere between (default 100% rewards).

Someone tipped me 100 XMR but I only received 70 XMR. Why?Someone tipped me 100 XMR but I only received 70 XMR. Why?

This no longer happens. Tips are delivered peer-to-peer: 100% of a tip goes to its author and nothing is taken from tips along the way.

Is there an equivalent to downvotes?Is there an equivalent to downvotes?

Yes. If you see content that you think should not be on Stasher News, you can click the ... next to the post or comment and select 'downvote', or use the downvote arrow next to the tip button. A modal lets you choose a downvote amount between 0.0001 and 0.025 XMR.

Downvoting content is a form of negative feedback that reduces the visibility of the specific item. Downvote payments fund the weekly curator rewards pool.

By default, your posts and comments filters start at -0.025 XMR: a post or comment whose net investment (cost + tips + boost - downvotes) sinks below that — roughly a dozen minimum downvotes — becomes outlawed: posts drop out of your feeds and comments collapse to the bottom. The 'posts xmr filter' and 'comments xmr filter' sliders in your settings set your own threshold, from 'wild west' at the far left (-0.1, show everything, even heavily downvoted content) up to 0.01 at the right. Turfs use their own filter floors, and outlawed items always remain reachable by direct link.

BountiesBounties

What are bounties?What are bounties?

A bounty is a post that puts a reward of XMR on solving a problem or completing a task. Anyone can post a bounty, and the bounty author can award the funds to the stasher who came up with a satisfactory answer.

How do I fund a bounty?How do I fund a bounty?

When you create a bounty, you set an amount of at least 0.01 XMR. To fund it, you pay the monero: URI shown after posting — an integrated address on the platform's dedicated bounty escrow wallet — including the platform fee (the greater of 0.01 XMR or 1% of the bounty, capped at 20% of the bounty) in the same payment. The bounty is only visible to you until the funding payment confirms on-chain.

How is a bounty awarded?How is a bounty awarded?

Once funded, the bounty author can award it to the stasher who wrote the winning comment. The winner receives the bounty on-chain from the escrow wallet to their registered address (they must have a wallet attached), and the fee goes to the platform.

What happens if no one solves my bounty?What happens if no one solves my bounty?

Bounties expire 30 days after they are funded. After that, the author can either reclaim the funds back to their wallet (the fee is still paid) or roll the funds over to the rewards pool.

Web of TrustWeb of Trust

Stasher News relies on a Web of Trust for weekly rewards.

How does the Web of Trust work?How does the Web of Trust work?

New accounts start without any trust and over time earn trust from other stashers by tipping good content before them. Downvoting content that others value can reduce your trust.

Stashers do not lose or gain trust for making posts or comments.

A stasher's trust is a private signal that weights their tips and downvotes, and it determines how much influence they have on which content earns weekly curator rewards.

Can I see my trust scores?Can I see my trust scores?

No. All trust scores are private, and even if it weren't confusing to see them, it'd make trust an easier target for manipulation.

LoginsLogins

Can I sign up without an email address?Can I sign up without an email address?

Yes. On the signup page, click 'Sign up without Email'. You get a 12-word recovery phrase: write it down on paper and keep it somewhere safe. The site makes you prove you saved the words before it creates your account. From then on, 'Log in without Email' on the login page asks for those twelve words instead of an email. Typing them with odd capitalization or extra spaces is fine.

Two things to know:

• The phrase is NOT a wallet seed. It holds no funds and unlocks nothing but this account. Never type a real wallet seed into any website, including this one.
• If you lose the phrase and have no other login linked (email or GitHub), the account is unrecoverable. There is no reset and no backup. The void keeps it.

Already have an account? Add a phrase in Settings → Logins with 'Add recovery phrase'. You can 'Replace phrase' or 'Unlink phrase' there too. Removing your last way in asks you to type a confirmation first, and the server enforces that step — it cannot happen by accident or through the API.

Other FAQsOther FAQs

Where should I submit feature requests?Where should I submit feature requests?

Ideally on Github [here]([repo URL]/issues/new?template=feature_request.yml). The more background you give on your feature request the better. The hardest part of developing a feature is understanding the problem it solves, all the things that can go wrong, etc.

Will Stasher News pay for contributions?Will Stasher News pay for contributions?

Yes, we pay XMR for PRs. See the section about contributing in our [README]([repo URL]#contributing) for the details.

Where should I submit bug reports?Where should I submit bug reports?

You can submit bug reports on Github [here]([repo URL]/issues/new?template=bug_report.yml).

If you found a security or privacy issue, please consider a responsible disclosure.

How to do a responsible disclosure?How to do a responsible disclosure?

If you found a vulnerability on Stasher News, we would greatly appreciate it if you report it on Github [here]([repo URL]/security/advisories/new).

You can also contact us via [security contact].

Where can I ask more questions?Where can I ask more questions?

Reply to this FAQ. It's like any other post on the site.