Kaspa (KAS) is a decentralized digital currency that implements a novel blockDAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) protocol to enhance scalability, speed, and security within the blockchain ecosystem. Launched in 2021, Kaspa aims to address the limitations of traditional blockchain technology, such as throughput bottlenecks and latency, by introducing a structure that allows for parallel block processing. The native cryptocurrency of the Kaspa network is KAS, which facilitates transactions within the ecosystem and incentivizes the participation of nodes in network consensus and security.
Kaspa's blockDAG framework is an evolution beyond the linear block sequence used in conventional blockchain systems, enabling simultaneous block additions by different miners, thus increasing the network's capacity to handle transactions per second (TPS) and reducing confirmation times. By allowing more than one block to reference its predecessors, Kaspa mitigates the scalability issues inherent in traditional proof-of-work (PoW) blockchains, offering a solution that balances speed, security, and decentralization.
The Kaspa protocol uses the GHOSTDAG (Greedy Heaviest Observed Sub-Tree Directed Acyclic Graph) consensus mechanism, a refinement of the GHOST (Greedy Heaviest Observed Sub-Tree) protocol, to achieve consensus within its blockDAG structure. Despite the presence of multiple blocks and the potential for temporary forks, the network can quickly reach consensus on a canonical history of transactions, maintaining the integrity and continuity of the ledger.
KAS tokens are used as a medium of exchange for transactions, as rewards for miners who contribute to network security through PoW mining, and as a tool for governance decisions regarding the protocol's development. The mining process in Kaspa is designed to be ASIC-resistant, promoting a more equitable distribution of mining opportunities and rewards among participants with different levels of computational resources.
