Kusama (KSM)

Kusama (KSM) is a public pre-production environment for Polkadot.
It’s a space where developers can experiment and test new blockchains or applications before launching them on the Polkadot network.
You could compare Kusama to a sandbox for developers wishing to test early versions of Polkadot projects, but with a real cryptocurrency traded on an open market.
Official Polkadot upgrades are also tested on Kusama before release.
Due to its main objective of facilitating testing, Kusama attempts to give developers more flexibility when finalizing the design of their Polkadot projects.
Kusama is a crypto-asset known for its volatility, but it also represents an attractive investment opportunity for those prepared to weather the ups and downs of the crypto-currency market.
With a variety of ambitious projects underway on its platform, Kusama’s growth potential is certainly one to watch.
The Kusama share price is €22.30 as of July 2, 2024.
Although its position in the top 100 crypto-assets by market capitalization can fluctuate due to market conditions, Kusama has often managed to hold its own in this ranking.

Kusama was born of a bold vision, a revolutionary project to reshape digital and economic interactions through blockchain technology.
This pioneering initiative was conceived as an innovation laboratory, where the most innovative ideas can be tested and developed without the constraints of traditional networks.
The pioneer at the head of this project is Gavin Wood, co-founder ofEthereum and creator of the Solidity programming language.
He is also President and Founder of Kusama.
Gavin Wood, with his extensive background in blockchain technologies and futuristic vision, is steering Kusama towards new horizons of innovation and experimentation.
At his side, Peter Czaban, as Chief Technology Officer, brings his invaluable expertise in peer-to-peer and distributed systems.
He shapes Kusama’s technological vision, ensuring that data and transactions flow smoothly and securely in this ecosystem.
Robert Habermeier, Director of Cryptography Research, completes this dynamic trio.
His crucial responsibility is to ensure the security and reliability of the innovations deployed on Kusama, guaranteeing a solid and secure foundation for this revolutionary blockchain network.
Together, this leadership team makes the heart of Kusama beat, propelling this visionary project beyond the boundaries of traditional blockchain, into a future where digital interactions are rethought and enriched by continuous innovation.

Kusama, a state-of-the-art blockchain network, is uniquely structured with a two-tier architecture.
This structure comprises a main relay chain, which is the heart of the network, and user-generated Parachains, which are individual blockchains that run in parallel to the relay chain.
Transactions taking place on the relay chain are permanent and immutable, guaranteeing the integrity and security of the network.
On the other hand, Parachains are flexible and can be adapted to a variety of uses, enabling a wide range of applications.
These Parachains are not autonomous, but rely on the security of the relay chain for their operation.
To maintain system consistency and ensure that all network nodes agree with the system state, Kusama employs a specific version of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus called Nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS).
This consensus method ensures that all network participants are in harmony with the current state of the system.
In a standard PoS system, validators (also known as miners) are chosen to create new blocks and validate transactions according to the quantity of tokens they hold and are willing to “stake” or “staker”.
The more tokens a validator has in play, the more likely he or she is to be chosen to validate blocks and receive rewards in return. Nominated Proof of Stake is a more advanced iteration where there are two main roles: 1. Nominators: nominators are token holders who actively participate in the consensus mechanism by delegating their tokens to trusted validators.
They are incentivized to choose validators who they believe will act in the best interests of the network.
In return, they receive a share of the transaction rewards generated by these validators. 2. Validators: Validators are responsible for creating new blocks and verifying transactions.
They must stake their own tokens as a guarantee against dishonest behavior.
If a validator acts improperly or attempts to corrupt the network, their in-the-money tokens may be reduced or “burned” as a penalty.
The nomination process helps secure the network and ensures that only reliable and competent validators are chosen.
Nominators must therefore make their choices wisely, because if a validator they have supported acts badly, they risk losing part of their stake.
Nominated Proof of Stake aims to improve the fairness and security of the validation process, distributing power among a greater number of stakeholders and making the process more resistant to centralization, while remaining more energy-efficient than Proof of Work.

The KSM crypto-asset is an essential component of the Kusama network, an experimental network for blockchain projects.
By holding and staking KSM, users can influence the development and improvement of the network.
Their voting power is proportional to the amount of KSM they stake, offering effective decentralized governance.
Users can vote on network upgrade proposals, decide on protocol modifications and even influence the future direction of the network.
This fosters an active and engaged community, where every KSM holder has the opportunity to shape the network according to his or her preferences.
This is what makes KSM and Kusama unique compared to other crypto-assets and blockchain networks.
The KSM token, therefore, not only serves as a medium of exchange or value, but also plays a vital role in maintaining and operating the network.

• Parachute auctions: Kusama continues to serve as a testing ground for parachute auctions.
  Several projects, such as Moonriver (the test version of Moonbeam on Polkadot) and Karura (Acala’s test network), use Kusama to test and refine their DeFi solutions before deploying them on Polkadot.
• Network updates: Kusama is regularly used to test new updates to the Polkadot protocol.
  For example, on-chain governance improvements and security updates are first implemented on Kusama to assess their impact.
• DeFi and NFT projects: Kusama is home to innovative projects in the fields of decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens(NFT). Bifrost, for example, is a DeFi protocol that uses Kusama to enable liquid staking and yield generation, while RMRK is an innovative NFT platform experimenting with advanced functionalities on Kusama.

1. Go to your Coinhouse application and log in to your personal space or create your account.
2. Go to the buy/sell section.
3. Select the amount you wish to invest, and the currency of your choice (in this case KSM).
   Do you have USDC?
   You can exchange them for KSM!
4. Once your transaction has been validated, you ‘ll find your KSMs in your portfolio.

We see this network as an effective and promising test blockchain. Its flexible model enables developers to rapidly test new projects, marking a significant evolution in the way blockchain applications are built. Kusama’s appeal is reinforced by its market valuation of around $362.51 million (in July 2024). This position testifies to the community’s interest in this pre-production blockchain.
What’s more, the fact that Kusama is closely linked to Polkadot, one of the most ambitious projects in the blockchain ecosystem, contributes not only to its visibility, but also to its credibility in the sector.
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