Kaspa is the fastest, open-source, decentralized & fully scalable Layer-1 in the world. The world’s first blockDAG – a digital ledger enabling parallel blocks and instant transaction confirmation – built on a robust proof-of-work engine with rapid single-second block intervals. Built by industry pioneers, led by the people.

Key Points

• Blockchain: Kaspa Block Explorer (https://kas.fyi/)

• Total Supply: 23,886,643,661

• Max Supply: 28,704,026,601

• Market Cap (at the date of this post): $3,993,977,169

• Price in USD (at the date of this post): $0.1672/KAS

• Ticker: KAS

• Open-Source: An open-source blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger whose source code is publicly accessible, allowing anyone to review, modify, and distribute it. This transparency and collaborative nature enhance security, innovation, and community trust. Examples include Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are widely used for cryptocurrencies and smart contracts.

• Decentralized: A decentralized digital ledger is a database that is distributed across multiple nodes or computers, ensuring that no single entity has control over the entire system. This structure enhances security, transparency, and resilience against manipulation or failure.

• Scalable Layer-1: A fully scalable Layer-1 blockchain is a foundational network that can handle increasing transaction volumes without compromising speed or efficiency.

• Directed Acyclic Graph: A blockDAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) is a data structure used in blockchain technology that allows multiple blocks to be processed simultaneously, rather than sequentially. This approach enhances scalability and transaction throughput by enabling parallel processing and reducing confirmation times.

  
  
  
  

What is KASPA: Blockchain for Speed and Scalability

Kaspa is the fastest and most scalable transaction layer using a proof-of-work engine, designed for instant confirmation. A proof-of-work engine is a consensus mechanism where miners solve complex mathematical problems to validate transactions and secure the network. Unlike traditional blockchains where transactions are processed in a single chain of blocks, Kaspa uses a blockDAG (Directed Acyclic Graph), a data structure that allows multiple blocks to be processed and confirmed simultaneously, enhancing speed and scalability.

Kaspa is based on the GhostDAG/PHANTOM protocol, which builds on the Nakamoto Consensus (the foundation of Bitcoin's security model). The GhostDAG/PHANTOM protocol ensures that blocks are connected in a way that optimizes both security and transaction throughput. Kaspa uses unspent transaction outputs (UTXO) to track ownership, meaning each transaction output can only be spent once, preventing double-spending. The network operates without central governance, meaning no single entity has control, ensuring decentralization and resistance to censorship.

Kaspa’s design includes a deflationary monetary policy, where the supply of tokens decreases over time, similar to Bitcoin. Currently, Kaspa's mainnet processes one block per second. The development team aims to significantly increase this rate through a rewrite in the Rust programming language, which will enable the implementation of smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with the terms directly written into code, allowing automated and trustless transactions and agreements.

Solving the Blockchain Trilemma

Traditional cryptocurrencies often face a tough tradeoff between security, scalability, and decentralization. This is known as the "blockchain trilemma." To maintain decentralization, these cryptocurrencies must limit the rate at which new blocks are created. This helps to prevent the creation of "orphan" blocks, which are blocks that get discarded because they were added to the blockchain too slowly and didn't propagate through the network in time. A high rate of orphan blocks weakens the security of the proof-of-work (PoW) network, making it more vulnerable to attacks by malicious actors.

Kaspa addresses this issue with its innovative consensus layer, GhostDAG. GhostDAG stands for a protocol that extends Nakamoto's original blockchain design into a directed acyclic graph (blockDAG) of blocks. Unlike traditional blockchains, GhostDAG incorporates orphan blocks into the blockchain structure. It uses a novel greedy algorithm to organize these blocks, prioritizing well-connected and honest blocks. This approach allows Kaspa to significantly increase the block creation rate while maintaining the security principles of Bitcoin.

The result is a cryptocurrency that offers robust 51% security, a high number of participating miners and nodes, and a block creation rate of approximately one block per second. This is a stark contrast to other cryptocurrencies, which often compromise by having fewer validator nodes or lower Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) security, making them susceptible to attacks by malicious actors controlling 33% of the network.

Fast Confirmations

Traditional cryptocurrencies often have slow block rates, leading to slow transaction confirmations. This means it takes a long time for transactions to be recorded on the blockchain. Kaspa, however, supports fast, subsecond confirmations. This rapid first confirmation is crucial for applications that require immediate proof of transaction publication, such as e-commerce.

High Throughput

The slow block rates of traditional cryptocurrencies also result in low transaction throughput. By using the GhostDAG protocol, Kaspa eliminates security as a bottleneck for high throughput. This allows for an increase in both block rate and block size, up to the limits of what the network can handle. Additionally, Kaspa optimizes bandwidth costs and network infrastructure to support high transaction volumes.

Mining Decentralization

In traditional cryptocurrencies, the slow block rate leads to a high variance in mining income. This inconsistency incentivizes miners to join large mining pools, which combine computing power to ensure more regular rewards. However, this centralizes mining power into the hands of a few pool managers. Kaspa's fast block rate reduces the variance in mining income, decreasing the incentive to join mining pools and promoting mining decentralization. This contributes to a more evenly distributed consensus power across the network.

Kaspa's advanced consensus layer and innovative protocols effectively address the blockchain trilemma, making it a groundbreaking solution for the future of cryptocurrencies.

The Vision of Kaspa

Kaspa aims to create a cryptocurrency that operates as quickly as internet speeds allow, surpassing the limitations of Satoshi Nakamoto's original Bitcoin protocol while adhering to its core principles. Bitcoin, while a groundbreaking financial revolution, has largely become a store of value rather than the peer-to-peer electronic cash system envisioned by Satoshi. This leaves significant room for improvement and different trade-offs at the foundational level (Layer 1).

For those interested in exploring Satoshi’s original vision, we recommend reading "Examining a Conspiracy Theory about Satoshi’s Intent" by Elliot Old.

Kaspa draws inspiration from the historical role of silver compared to gold. In ancient Aramaic, "Kaspa" means silver and money. Silver, although less valuable than gold, was more widely used as a medium of exchange. Kaspa aims to be the "silver" of cryptocurrencies, prioritizing fast and efficient transactions over simply being a store of value.

The consensus mechanism of Kaspa addresses key challenges facing the second decade of cryptocurrency development. As crypto technology matures and integrates more with web applications, two primary factors need revisiting: the speed of transaction inclusion in the ledger and control over transaction ordering.

We believe that instant transaction inclusion (or first confirmation) is crucial for user and developer experience, as well as for integrating with other web applications. Kaspa minimizes the delay imposed by the consensus engine on transaction processing. Furthermore, allowing nodes with a small fraction of the network’s hashing power to mine blocks frequently and asynchronously is vital for preventing frontrunning and Miner Extractable Value (MEV) threats. These threats occur when miners or trading bots manipulate transaction ordering to gain an unfair advantage.

Achieving instant confirmation without compromising decentralization or relying on strong network assumptions is no small feat. Kaspa takes on this challenge by building on Satoshi’s original principles. While Bitcoin is solidifying as a digital reserve asset, there is still a strong demand for a true peer-to-peer electronic cash system, fulfilling Satoshi’s original vision.

Kaspa’s base layer focuses on fast and scalable transaction sequencing, also known as proof-of-publication. This means that the base consensus will handle the state of payments (the UTXO set), while more complex computations will be managed by Layer Two solutions. This approach aligns with innovations from Ethereum researchers and developers working on rollups. Rollups decouple computation from data availability, reducing the cost of running consensus nodes.

However, a rollups-centric Ethereum could fragment the network, hinder composability, and change its fundamental dynamics. Ensuring smooth operation between different rollups will require special liquidity providers to bridge gaps, providing instant confirmations to overcome long finality periods. Kaspa aims to solve this by offering a shared, scalable transaction sequencing layer. This layer will enable faster finality times and stealth transactions to protect against censorship, supporting an ecosystem of cross-rollup communication.

Kaspa is dedicated to providing a fast, secure, and decentralized transaction network that stays true to Satoshi Nakamoto's original vision, all while addressing the evolving needs of the cryptocurrency landscape.

Tokenomics

Kaspa's blockDAG architecture, with its rapid block rates, promotes greater mining decentralization and allows effective solo-mining even at lower hash rates. This architecture means that even individual miners with less computing power can successfully mine Kaspa, contributing to a more decentralized network. Kaspa was launched fairly in November 2021 with no pre-mine, no pre-sales, and no coin allocations to insiders, ensuring it is 100% decentralized, open-source, and managed by the community.

Supply and Emission

The total maximum supply of Kaspa is capped at 28.7 billion coins. The emission schedule is designed to halve once per year, achieved through smooth monthly reductions. Each month, the emission rate decreases by a factor of (1/2)^(1/12), ensuring a gradual reduction in the new coin supply.

Mining Evolution

Initially, Kaspa was mined using CPUs during the first month after the mainnet launch. On December 6, 2021, a community member developed and released the first open-source GPU mining software for Kaspa, which significantly increased mining efficiency. For nearly a year and a half, Kaspa was predominantly mined using GPUs. At some point, mining with FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) also began, although the exact date is unclear because public FPGA bitstreams became available after individual miners started discussing FPGA mining.

On April 13, 2023, Kaspa entered the ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) era when a representative from IceRiver joined the Kaspa Discord server and introduced their lineup of ASIC mining products. ASICs are specialized hardware designed specifically for mining, offering even greater efficiency and performance.

Current Supply and Market Metrics

• Circulating Supply: 23.89 billion KAS

• Maximum Supply: 28.7 billion KAS

• Market Cap: $4.0 billion

  
  
  
  

Kaspa's community-driven approach, fair launch, and innovative blockDAG architecture make it a unique and decentralized cryptocurrency project with significant potential for growth and widespread adoption.

Final Thoughts

Kaspa is redefining the landscape of cryptocurrencies by addressing the fundamental challenges that have long plagued the industry. By solving the blockchain trilemma, Kaspa ensures that its network remains secure, scalable, and truly decentralized. Utilizing the innovative GhostDAG protocol, Kaspa incorporates orphan blocks into a blockDAG structure, allowing for rapid block creation without compromising security. This leap in technology enables Kaspa to achieve subsecond transaction confirmations and high throughput, making it an ideal platform for fast-paced, real-world applications like e-commerce.

Kaspa's vision is ambitious yet grounded in the principles that Satoshi Nakamoto embedded into Bitcoin. While Bitcoin has evolved into a digital gold, Kaspa aims to be the digital silver—faster, more efficient, and widely usable as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. By adhering to a fair launch with no pre-mining, pre-sales, or insider allocations, Kaspa maintains a strong commitment to decentralization and community management.

Tokenomics is another area where Kaspa shines. With a maximum supply of 28.7 billion coins and a thoughtfully designed emission schedule that reduces new coin supply smoothly over time, Kaspa ensures a controlled and predictable monetary policy. The evolution of mining, from CPU to GPU, FPGA, and now ASIC, demonstrates the adaptability and resilience of the Kaspa network.

Kaspa's dedication to creating a truly decentralized and efficient cryptocurrency is evident in its continuous development and community involvement. The transition to ASIC mining, while maintaining decentralization, highlights the project's commitment to advancing technology without compromising its core values. The current circulating supply stands at 23.89 billion KAS, with a market cap of $4.0 billion, reflecting strong market confidence and adoption.

In summary, Kaspa represents the next generation of blockchain technology. It balances speed, security, and decentralization in a way that few other cryptocurrencies can match. By staying true to the foundational principles of blockchain while innovating to meet modern demands, Kaspa is poised to lead the way in creating a truly peer-to-peer electronic cash system. As the project continues to evolve, its commitment to community-driven development and technological excellence will undoubtedly drive further growth and adoption, making Kaspa a cornerstone of the future cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Tracking Kaspa