Altcoin Spotlight: Kaspa (KAS)
Kaspa is a newer cryptocurrency project that recently hit the top 50 on coinmarketcap. While this coin is skyrocketing quickly in popularity, it’s always a good idea to have more information before buying on investing in it.
If you are interested in possibly getting involved with the Kaspa blockchain then keep reading, as we will discuss how this coin works, as well as whether or not it might be a good idea for an investment.
What is Kaspa?
Kaspa, abbreviated KAS, is a proof-of-work blockchain like Bitcoin, though it implements several new protocols that allow it to function faster than Bitcoin—giving users the security of a proof-of-work blockchain without requiring a lot of patience.
Currently, Kaspa uses the GHOSTDAG protocol, which allows blocks in the blockchain to be created in parallel, the later ordered for proof of work purposes. This allows the proof of work consensus mechanism to process requests faster than other blockchains on the same consensus mechanism. Currently, the Kaspa blockchain produces 1 block per second, which is much faster than Bitcoin’s 1 block per seven minutes production rate.
Because all valid blocks are eventually validated and added to the blockchain, this also makes Kaspa more efficient, and it results in less digital waste than traditional proof of work blockchain.
Additionally, this blockchain offers users several features that are considered “premium,” which we have listed below.
· Reachability
· Block data pruning
· Subnet network (in the future)
How Does the Kaspa Blockchain Work?
First and foremost, Kaspa was created with the idea of designing a better Bitcoin in mind. Therefore, it was created with a lot of backward compatibility features to ensure there would be miners and users the minute the platform launched.
As for processing transactions, Kaspa works similar to Bitcoin, in that transactions are grouped and processed in blocks. But unlike Bitcoin, where only one block is accepted by the blockchain, multiple blocks can be accepted on Kaspa as long as they meet proof of work requirements. Once they are accepted, then they are ordered to protect against double spending.
Similar to Bitcoin, the number of blocks produced by Kaspa will decrease over time, however, unlike Bitcoin, the current plan is a geometric emission reduction, which is uniquely based on the 12-note music scale. This means that the rewards given to miners for mining Kaspa decrease a small amount each month with the total halving each year. This makes things a little easier and more predictable for miners. Currently, the reward is set to the frequency of A4, with plans to halve each year and a ceiling of 28.7 billion coins.
Who Invented Kaspa?
Kaspa was invented by DAGLabs, though it received additional monetary support from PolyChain. It was specifically designed by Yonatan Sompolinsky, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard, with the help of several doctoral and undergrad students working under him. Sompolinsky’s name might be familiar, as his Ghost protocol was used in the Ethereum Whitepaper.
The project was launched silently in 2021, notably skipping the ICO phase. Additionally, there were no coin allocations, meaning those invested in the coin are either miners or investors, and it is truly decentralized in nature.
The cool thing is, since inception, Kaspa has evolved to be a community project similar to Bitcoin, meaning there is no governance or central authority, and anyone can devote work to the blockchain.
Related: 10 Steps to Day Trading Crypto
Where to Buy Kaspa?
Kaspa is currently the 39th project in terms of market cap and is therefore available on several large trading platforms. Below are the most popular places to buy Kaspa, but this is not a full list of all the exchanges that may offer the coin.
· KuCoin
· Bybit
· Gate.io
· Binance
· MEXC
· Coinone
Related: The 5 Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges for Beginners
Should You Buy Kaspa?
Honestly, during these altcoin spotlights, we review several shady altcoin projects, and Kaspa actually seems to be on the up and up compared to some we’ve seen. This means we are reasonably sure it isn’t a scam and that an investment in the project could possibly be a good idea for the right investor.
That being said, it’s important to note that there are so few small projects, especially “better Bitcoins,” that make it big(Litecoin, anyone?). The truth is that Bitcoin has already been invented, and even though the platform is slow, it has so many die-hard fans who insist on using it despite its obvious faults. This means that even if Kaspa is a good and reputable project, it could still be a bad investment, especially if you are looking for a project with steady projected growth.
Additionally, Kaspa is a community project. Therefore, somewhere down the road, if it is not widely adopted, the owners could stop updating it, and it could fade into oblivion. In fact, if it doesn’t reach widespread adoption within a few decades, we are reasonably certain this will become the case.
This means, overall, we still categorize Kaspa as a risky investment. But if you have money you don’t mind losing, Kaspa is a decent investment as it does seem to be a useable and reputable blockchain—we just aren’t sure it will ever take off. It is currently priced very low, just about ten cents a coin, and we do suspect it will experience some growth in the future as halving continues.
There is some talk that Kaspa could become the more widely adopted payment version of Bitcoin; while that is a possibility, know that there are many more famous coins that are more likely to catch traction, and it is not a reason to purchase this cryptocurrency.
All in all, you could do worse than an investment in Kaspa, but know that it isn’t without its risks. If you like the project behind Kaspa, however, and want to support its development, then at least a small investment in the blockchain might be a good idea for some more flexible investors. Just be prepared that you could one day lose your entire investment.
You May Also Enjoy: How to Buy Altcoins
