Kaspa (cryptocurrency)

Kaspa (symbol: KAS) is a decentralized cryptocurrency not governed by any central authority or monetary policy. Kaspa aims to address the limitations of earlier cryptocurrencies, particularly in terms of speed and scalability. The name "Kaspa" derives from ancient Aramaic, meaning "money". The cryptocurrency was developed by a team led by Dr. Yonatan Sompolinsky, a prominent researcher in the fields of blockchain technology and decentralized systems.

Kaspa

ISO 4217
Denominations
Demographics
User(s)	Crypto
Valuation
Inflation	Predetermined and decreasing rate

Kaspa is based on a data structure called BlockDAG (Directed Acyclic Graph), an evolution of the traditional blockchain concept. Unlike traditional blockchains where each block links to a single predecessor, BlockDAG allows a block to connect to multiple predecessors, enabling higher block creation rates. Kaspa implements the GHOSTDAG protocol, which allows the network to process blocks at a rate of one per second while maintaining high levels of security.

History

The foundation for Kaspa's development began to take shape in 2013, when Dr. Yonatan Sompolinsky and Professor Aviv Zohar published the paper "Secure High-Rate Transaction Processing in Bitcoin". This paper proposed the GHOST protocol, which was designed to improve Bitcoin's performance and later formed the basis for the development of additional protocols that led to the creation of Kaspa.

In 2018, Sompolinsky and his team continued to research and develop their ideas and published the paper on the PHANTOM protocol, which laid the foundations for the technology behind Kaspa. In the same year, Sompolinsky founded DAGlabs, with the aim of advancing the technology's development and commercializing the various protocols. DAGlabs raised funding of $8 million from venture capital funds to realize the technological potential of BlockDAG and enable the continued development of Kaspa.

On November 19 2021, after several years of development, Kaspa's main network (mainnet) was launched. The network launch was performed in a "fair" manner, without a pre-allocation of coins to developers or investors, which was an important principle within the community that grew around the project.

In 2022, following the main network launch, Sompolinsky focused on expanding the community and building collaboration with additional developers to continue improving Kaspa's protocol. Kaspa is designed to be completely decentralized, with an emphasis on using the BlockDAG protocol that enables fast and secure transaction processing, while maintaining a balance between decentralization and performance.

During 2023, Kaspa's value rose significantly in the crypto market, with the price reaching a peak of $0.1395 on December 8, 2023. The value increase was a result of broader recognition of Kaspa's technological potential and rapid progress in various related projects.

Dr. Yonatan Sompolinsky, one of Kaspa's founders, is a leading researcher in the field of cryptography and network protocols, and is considered one of the central figures in the blockchain industry.

Features

Kaspa is designed to function similarly to Bitcoin, with an emphasis on scalability and speed, making it suitable for fast, low-cost daily transactions. As of January 2024, Kaspa's mainnet processes approximately 200–300 transactions per second, while the testnet operates at a block creation rate of 10 blocks per second, enabling 2,000–3,000 transactions per second. The development team aims to achieve a block creation rate of 100 blocks per second, potentially supporting up to 30,000 transactions per second.

A significant innovation in Kaspa is its implementation of the GHOSTDAG consensus protocol, which offers a unique solution to the blockchain trilemma—the balance between security, decentralization, and scalability. This protocol enables Kaspa to operate at high speeds without compromising on security.

Launch and Tokenomics

Kaspa was launched through a fair launch process in November 2021, with approximately 400 miners participating on the first day. The launch did not involve pre-mining or allocation of tokens to developers or investors. The total supply of Kaspa is capped at 28.7 billion coins, with over 90% expected to be mined by March 2025. Full emission is projected to be completed by 2036.

Energy Efficiency

Kaspa is particularly efficient as a Proof of Work (PoW) cryptocurrency due to its optimization for optical mining, a technology that has the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption compared to other PoW-based cryptocurrencies.