Kusama is the current
pre-production environment for the well-known Polkadot, where developers can
experiment and test their newly made blockchains or apps before their actual
release there.
Kusama Explained
Kusama is known for
being the grounds for the early testing stages of Polkadot’s projects and
upgrades, or a developer’s sandbox, but with actual cryptocurrency being
traded.
Flexibility is greatly
enhanced as the primary goal of Kusama is to facilitate testing as much as
possible. As such, Kusama will mimic all of Polkadot’s main design features
while having much less stricter rules.
Kusama has two types of
blockchains:
1. The
relay chain: which acts as the main network and where transactions are
permanent
2. Parachains:
which are user-generated networks, customized for any type of use. They emply
the relay chain’s computing resources in order to attest for accuracy in
transactions
As new projects start
out on the Kusama network, developers can galvanize users before officially
releasing them.
Kusama’s Relay Chain
As to achieve consensus
on the system’s state, the Relay Chain employs a derivative of the
proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus, entitled nominated proof-of-stake (or NPoS).
By staking KSM users
can perform one of two roles:
1. Validators:
which validate data on parachain blocks, vote on changes and collaborate on
consensus
2. Nominators:
which secure the Relay Chain through the process of selecting validators who
are deemed trustworthy
Kusama’s software development can be influenced by three of its user
types:
1.
The Referendum Chamber: where KSM token holders can
propose whatever change they see necessary up to vote
2.
The Council: where users who are elected by KSM
holders can propose changes for the council to vote on
3.
The Technical Committee: which are the dev teams
behind Kusama and are voted in by the members of the council
The History Behind
Kusama
Kusama was created in
2016 by Gavin Wood, Robert Habermeier, and Peter Czaban, the men behind
Polkadot.
