What Is Kusama (KSM) How It Works & Where To Buy It?

Kusama is Polkadot’s sister-chain and is used as a public testing chain. Kusama is often referred to as a ”Canary network” and it facilitates the real-time processing of early versions of Polkadot projects.

The Kusama network plays an integral role in ensuring security and functionality for the Polkadot blockchain by acting as a test network.

KSM is the native token of the Kusama network – KSM is the 72nd largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

How Kusama (KSM) Works

The Kusama network essentially mimics the Polkadot network, ensuring that all conditions are the same – but the Kusama network acts as the testing ground before actual deployment occurs on the Polkadot network.

Kusama comprises two types of blockchains that facilitate all the network activity and are tasked with processing transactions. The primary network is referred to as the Relay chain, and this is where validators are staked. For reference, the functionality of the Relay chain is nominal and the primary task of the chain is to coordinate the system in its entirety.

Additionally, there are Parachains which are flexible and versatile user-generated networks – each with unique features and varying architectures under different projects.

What makes Kusama especially useful is the fact that most projects deploy on a testnet but by deploying on Kusama’s live blockchain a project is truly able to perform the necessary testing. This facilitates the testing of projects in live conditions, which is a significant advantage for many reasons.

Kusama acts as the dummy test before projects go live on the Polkadot network. The parameters of the Kusama blockchain can be altered, allowing it to achieve optimized speeds up to four times the speed of Polkadot.

What Is Kusama (KSM) Used For?

The Kusama token (KSM) has several uses including staking KSM tokens for the operation of the network, as a governance token, and KSM tokens for bonding when connecting a chain as a parachain to Kusama.

Essentially, the true use of Kusama is to act as a fully-functioning blockchain that serves as a testing ground for projects before they go live on the Polkadot network. This is incredibly valuable because it is unrivaled by other blockchains, and truly allows for thorough testing of all projects seeking to deploy in the Polkadot ecosystem.

KSM token holders also get to participate in proposals where funds from the Kusama treasury will be allocated for certain upgrades and other advancements. The Kusama treasury consists of a pot of funds that are collected through transaction fees and block production rewards etc.

KSM holders have voting rights on proposals and are incentivized to hold their KSM tokens long-term because of the significant growth the Kusama blockchain is seeing.

Additionally, KSM tokens are frequently traded by swing or arbitrage traders because of the daily price fluctuations the cryptocurrency experiences.

KSM holders can also stake KSM to earn rewards.

Where To Buy Kusama (KSM) Tokens

KSM tokens are among the most commonly traded cryptocurrencies on major cryptocurrency exchanges. The KSM token is subject to price volatility, as the majority of other cryptocurrencies.

Before purchasing KSM, users are required to deposit fiat money onto an exchange, sequentially, KSM tokens will then be credited to their KSM digital wallet on the exchange.

The crypto exchanges below are the safest place where you can buy, sell and store KSM tokens.

1. Gate.io
2. HTX
3. KuCoin
4. Binance
5. Crypto.com

KSM tokens are governance tokens that also have additional utility within the Kusama network. Most individuals who purchase KSM tokens opt to store them in a compatible wallet that has staking features.

A comprehensive list of KSM compatible wallets can be found here.

About Kusama (KSM)

How long has Kusama (KSM) existed?

The Polkadot founders are the figures behind Kusama which was founded in 2016 by Gavin Wood (Ethereum co-founder), Peter Czaban, and Robert Habermeier.

The KSM cryptocurrency first launched in May 2019 at a listing price of $1,71 – the cryptocurrency has grown exponentially since listing reaching an all-time of $594 on the 14th of May, 2021.

What’s controversial about Kusama (KSM)?

There are thousands of new projects entering the crypto space. Most projects aim to bring new solutions to the world but very few deliver in an already over-saturated space. Unfortunately, crypto regulation and the decentralized nature of crypto lends itself to potential threats and exploits. tMany opportunists try to capitalize on people who aren’t knowledgeable enough about the industry.

Doing your research is fundamental and will almost always help you suss out what projects are worth your time and money. Researching the project’s founders, token utility, any partnerships, the project’s whitepaper, and all other important factors surrounding the project is crucial.

Let’s take a look at the top controversy surrounding Kusama (KSM):

Parachain Limitations – Among the most controversial factors surrounding the Kusama project is the issue of parachain accessibility and limitations. For an application to be deployed on the Polkadot network, it is first required to exist on another parachain.

This in itself might seem to be beneficial but this comes with many limitations. Many developers feel that the system isn’t optimal and can be unattainable. Essentially, developers face more challenges because they’re required to build the existing application on a parachain which can be time-intensive and often extremely costly too.

Although some developers feel that is completely necessary, others are more perturbed by the requirement.

How many Kusama (KSM) Tokens tokens are there?

At the time of writing, KSM has a circulating supply of 8,470,098.06 KSM

The total supply of KSM is 9,651,217

Can Kusama (KSM) be mined?

KSM is an unmineable cryptocurrency. KSM uses a nominated proof-of-stake consensus algorithm which makes it an unmineable currency.

Individuals can however earn rewards from staking their KSM tokens. The main reason that staking KSM is important is that it bolsters the security and efficiency of the network – stakers are rewarded for their contributions to the network. The majority of Polkadot-compatible wallets offer staking features.

Some centralized exchanges also offer staking rewards for KSM holders that stake their tokens for a certain duration.

What is the market cap of Kusama (KSM)?

The market cap of Kusama (KSM) is:

Kusama market cap = total amount of coins in circulation x current market price of KSM.

KSM Market Cap = 8,470,098.06 KSM x $74.69 = $632 million (72nd largest market cap),

KSM is currently one of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization – Kusama (KSM) achieved its largest market cap of $5,03 billion on the 14th of May, 2021.

The market cap fluctuates according to circulating supply and market price.

Biggest Competitors Of Kusama (KSM)

Kusama positions itself as a blockchain that serves to test applications before they deploy on the Polkadot network. The characteristics of the Kusama blockchain mimic the Polkadot blockchain – providing the perfect testing platform for projects.

Essentially, when comparing the competitors of Kusama, it’s important to consider that Kusama is a stand-alone layer-1 blockchain that functions similarly to other blockchains but is used for testing purposes, unlike other blockchains.

The KSM token on the other hand has similar utility to many governance tokens on the crypto market and can be compared accordingly.

Kusama’s biggest competitors are:

• Ethereum
• Ankr
• Fantom

What are the future plans for Kusama and KSM token

Kusama has incorporated the latest Web3 and parity technologies to continue building the ultimate substrate blockchain that will be home to the testing of all Polkadot projects before they’re deployed on the Polkadot network.

Kusama validators continue to uphold the integrity and security of the network, which aids in providing a stable ad efficient test blockchain. All upgrades that take place on the Polkadot blockchain will be incorporated into the Kusama blockchain – ensuring uniformity and optimization throughout.

The Kusama price is currently trading significantly lower than its all-time high and will likely only experience appreciation once the sentiment in the crypto market changes. As the number of Kusama users continues to increase, more attention will be drawn to the project and the KSM token will potentially experience positive price appreciation.

Pros And Cons Of Kusama (KSM)

Pros:

• Scalability – Kusama has the potential to scale infinitely and host several applications without slowing down and experiencing network congestion like Ethereum’s network.
• Staking Rewards – Kusama (KSM) tokens can be staked in software wallets and users can earn rewards for staking their Kusama (KSM) tokens. KSM tokens can also be stored on hardware wallets such as Ledger.
• Test Blockchain – The Kusama blockchain serves as the perfect testing ground for any projects wishing to deploy on Polkadot. Projects can test their decentralized applications on the Kusama blockchain and make the necessary adjustments to the applications where applicable.
• Kusama Is Decentralized – The Kusama project is much more decentralized than most other blockchain projects. The project is run by the community, ensuring that decentralization is prioritized.

Cons:

• Limitations Of Parachains – As much as parachains sound innovative, novel, and even superior to Ethereum – the truth is that any parachain models can be quite inconvenient to most projects. Any application that hopes to launch on the Polkadot network is required to be existing on another parachain – this can be incredibly challenging to developers.