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About Kusama
Key Points
- Kusama is an experimental blockchain platform designed for developers.
- It’s built on Substrate and has almost the same codebase as Polkadot.
- Kusama is a “canary network” for testing and deploying blockchain projects.
- It has a low barrier to entry, low bond requirements, and is used by early-stage startups.
Founders and Funding
- Founded by Dr. Gavin Wood, a renowned computer scientist and programmer.
- Parity Technologies, the company behind Kusama, has over 100 employees.
- Funded by grants from the Web3
About Kusama: The Canary Network for Kusama and Polkadot
Kusama (KSM): A Pioneering Blockchain Network
Self-proclaimed as “Polkadot’s unbridled cousin,” Kusama is an audacious experimental blockchain platform, meticulously designed to furnish a profoundly interoperable and scalable framework, empowering developers to push the boundaries of innovation.
Kusama is founded upon Substrate, a cutting-edge blockchain development framework crafted by Parity Technologies. Notably, Kusama shares a nearly identical codebase with Polkadot, one of the most triumphant interoperable blockchains in the industry.
By leveraging Kusama’s infrastructure, fast-paced projects can tap into a highly scalable, interoperable sharded network, boasting features that are not yet available on Polkadot. In essence, Kusama positions itself as a “canary network,” serving as a precursor to its more robust counterpart.
The platform is meticulously crafted to serve as a sandbox for visionary developers seeking to innovate and deploy their own blockchain solutions, and can be leveraged as a preparatory proving ground before launching on Polkadot — although many projects ultimately opt to remain with Kusama as their preferred choice for their final product.
Kusama boasts a remarkably low barrier to entry for deploying parachains, accompanied by modest bond requirements for validators, making it an attractive platform for early-stage startups and a popular choice for experimental endeavors.
The Visionaries Behind Kusama: Unveiling the Founding Team
Kusama was conceived by the visionary team behind Polkadot, Parity Technologies, a pioneering organization founded by the esteemed Dr. Gavin Wood, a globally acclaimed computer scientist and programmer, who also played a pivotal role in the co-founding of Ethereum.
Parity Technologies boasts a formidable team of globally renowned blockchain engineers, with a diverse workforce of over 100 professionals dispersed across the globe.
In addition, Kusama benefits from grants provided by the Web3 Foundation, an organization dedicated to fostering and guiding the development of decentralized web software protocols. Furthermore, the Web3 Foundation extends its support to Kusama through research initiatives and community development efforts, courtesy of its growth team.
Kusama’s Distinctive Edge: Unveiling its Uniqueness
Kusama stands out among blockchain platforms in that it is primarily designed for developers seeking to launch innovative, large-scale projects, with a rapid pace of development that is constantly evolving.
Built upon a multichain, heterogeneously-sharded architecture, this innovative design leverages a nominated proof-of-stake (NPoS) consensus system, offering a compelling alternative to the energy-intensive proof-of-work (POW) mechanism utilized by numerous other blockchain platforms.
This system facilitates seamless on-chain upgrades without the need for a fork, while also supporting cross-chain message passing (XCMP) to enable seamless communication with other parachains within the Kusama network.
Similar to Polkadot, Kusama boasts on-chain governance capabilities that are both decentralized and permission-less, empowering anyone holding Kusama (KSM) tokens or parachain tokens to cast their votes on respective governance proposals. These proposals may encompass prospective upgrades, protocol modifications, and feature requests. Notably, this on-chain governance process is approximately four times more expeditious than Polkadot’s, with a combined voting and enactment period of merely 15 days, thereby facilitating the rapid development of projects built on Kusama.
The project caters to initiatives seeking to accelerate their development, enabling seamless deployment of updates and enhancements without necessitating a fork, thereby fostering unparalleled community unity and cohesion.
What Is the Circulating Supply of Kusama (KSM) Coins?
As of November 2020, Kusama boasts a circulating supply of 8.47 million tokens, with a total supply capped at 10 million tokens. Notably, this maximum supply is not static, instead, it is designed to incrementally increase at an annual inflation rate of 10%.
The proportion of KSM tokens that are staked has a direct impact on the distribution of newly minted tokens resulting from inflation. Notably, if exactly half of all KSM tokens are staked, Kusama validators receive the entirety of the newly minted tokens. Conversely, if the staked proportion deviates from this 50% threshold, a portion of the inflation rewards will be allocated to the Kusama Treasury.
Kusama was initially introduced as an airdrop to participants in the Polkadot (DOT) token sale, with a 1:1 distribution ratio. Additionally, those without DOT holdings were able to acquire KSM through a frictionless faucet, which has since been discontinued. Notably, unlike Polkadot, Kusama has not undergone a redenomination process to increase its circulating supply.
The Kusama Network’s Security Mechanisms: A Robust Framework
Kusama is founded upon a nominated proof-of-stake (NPoS) consensus mechanism, which underpins its operational framework.
This mechanism leverages a decentralized network of nominators, comprising KSM stakers, who collectively elect nodes to participate in the transaction validation process. In return, these nominators receive a proportion of the inflation reward if their nominated node is selected for the next rotation. Conversely, validators that engage in dishonest behavior or fail to meet the requisite performance standards risk having their stake slashed.
Furthermore, Kusama employs a straightforward queuing mechanism, leveraging Merkle trees to facilitate seamless cross-chain transactions. Notably, relay chain validators assume responsibility for transferring transactions from the output queue of one parachain to the input queue of the target parachain, thereby ensuring a secure, trustless process that relies on the same validators on each chain to relay messages.
Where to Acquire Kusama (KSM): A Comprehensive Guide
Kusama (KSM) is presently listed on numerous prominent exchange platforms, including Binance, OKEx, and Huobi Global, thereby facilitating seamless trading. The most liquid trading pairs for KSM are currently KSM/USDT, KSM/BTC, and KSM/ETH, ensuring optimal market accessibility.
Delve into the world of fiat-to-crypto transactions with our exhaustive guide, designed to enlighten you on the intricacies of buying cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies.
Associated Resources:
Delve into the world of Polkadot (DOT), an enterprise-oriented counterpart to Kusama (KSM).
Explore Ethereum (ETH), a prominent rival of Kusama in the cryptocurrency landscape.
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