Kusama is a canary network for Polkadot. It enables developers to build and deploy a parachain or experiment with Polkadot’s governance, staking, nomination and validation functionality in a real environment.
The easiest way to launch and run Kusama blockchain infrastructure. Contact us to get started running nodes:
Contact usRead our Kusama Delegation Guide to learn how to securely stake your KSM tokens to Bison Trails’ non-custodial public validators.
Kusama, an innovative Web3 Foundation project, is a canary network designed for developers to run experiments and test implementations in a Polkadot-like environment, before features get merged to the main chain. Kusama is a testing ground with faster governance parameters and lower barriers to entry than Polkadot. Kusama enables developers to build and deploy a parachain or experiment with Polkadot’s governance, staking, nomination and validation functionality. Unlike a typical testnet, Kusama is intended to function alongside Polkadot, supporting ongoing usage and providing long-term value to participants and the ecosystem.
Parachains are the major protocol design innovation of Kusama. Parachains—or “parallelized blockchains”—are application-specific blockchains within the Polkadot network. Each parachain is an entire blockchain in and of itself, with its own logic and features. However, parachains also share software and security with the other parachains. The main relay chain connects these parachains by sharing state and validation logic to provide a secure environment for trust-free message passing. This shared security model across chains represents a big draw for developers to work with the Polkadot ecosystem.
Substrate is the modular blockchain framework on which Kusama is built and the foundation for the whole Polkadot ecosystem. It allows developers to quickly build and launch a blockchain with a variety of feature options available for a wide range of project needs. These options include WebAssembly smart contracts, multi-level permissioning, encrypted transactions and state, account-level locking, and governance tools. Substrate-based protocols can easily interact with Polkadot allowing them to become parachains in the system and share security.
Kusama uses Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS) as its consensus method. There is a known and limited number of validators in the active set and this active set number is decided by governance. Inclusion in the active set is determined by your total self-bonded and nominated stake. The minimum stake to get in the active set varies daily and depends upon the number of validators attempting to be included and the amount of stake on each. In a NPoS system, each elected validator has equal say in consensus.
Once included in the active set, every validator has equal voting powers and gets equal rewards. For example, if there are two validators, one with 15k KSM and another with 100k KSM, assuming both are in the active set, they will receive equal rewards on an annual basis.
Because of this equitable distribution of rewards, it is preferable for a KSM holder to distribute their stake and run multiple validators. Optimizing your participation on Kusama, or any NPoS network, requires more active management than other PoS networks.
There is no minimum self-bond to run a validator. It is possible to meet the minimum stake necessary to be elected to the active set with almost 100% nominated KSM. The goal is to get in the active set without being significantly higher than the minimum. As such, many validators maintain a low self-bond and nominate themselves with the majority of their KSM from a separate account. This set up allows them to remain flexible and distribute their stake as the minimum for election to the active set changes.
Kusama has two participatory reward mechanisms. Its native rate of participatory rewards is determined by the staking rate of the protocol, capping out at 10% when 50% of the protocol’s tokens are staked.
Additionally, 1% of DOTs (native to Polkadot) will be distributed as rewards to Kusama participants. The reward distribution mechanism has not yet been determined, as the Polkadot protocol is still under development.
If a validator doesn't follow protocol rules, Kusama slashes their bonded tokens as well as the KSM delegated to them.
Slashing primarily happens for one of the two reasons:
Kusama’s governance parameters allow for fast upgrades; the period between governance events is relatively short. Allowing for new referenda, voting, and enacting approved upgrades to happen quickly allows the protocol to adapt and evolve rapidly. Given the speed of governance, validators must remain active and aware to keep up with changes on the protocol.
Bison Trails is uniquely positioned to provide unparalleled enterprise-grade node infrastructure for Kusama validators:
Read our Kusama Delegation Guide to learn how to securely stake your KSM tokens to Bison Trails’ non-custodial public validators.
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Our third edition of the most important developments in the Substrate Ecosystem curated by Elias Simos, Protocol Specialist at Bison Trails.
Our second edition of the most important developments in the Substrate Ecosystem curated by Elias Simos, Protocol Specialist at Bison Trails.
Our first edition of the most important developments in the Substrate Ecosystem curated by Elias Simos, Protocol Specialist at Bison Trails
Bison Trails enables ZKValidator to run a community-focused Staking as a Service to promote privacy research and participate in governance on emerging PoS networks
Bison Trails’ managed controllers allow large-scale DOT holders to run validators on the Bison Trails platform or delegate to our staking-as-a-service nodes to easily manage Polkadot delegation as network dynamics change.
We’re very excited to announce Bison Trails will support Polkadot at launch and we’ll continue to support node operators on Kusama!
