The Scalable, Multichain Network for Radical Innovation.
Unprecedented interoperability and scalability for blockchain developers who want to quickly push the limits of what’s possible. Built using Substrate with nearly the same codebase and industry-leading multichain infrastructure as Kusama’s cousin, Polkadot.
Origin of Kusama
The relationship between society and technology has deteriorated to the point where large entities routinely stretch and overstep their authority.
Kusama is a network built as a risk-taking, fast-moving ‘canary in the coal mine’ for its cousin Polkadot. It's a living platform built for change agents to take back control, spark innovation and disrupt the status quo.
What is Kusama?
Kusama is a scalable network of specialized blockchains built using Substrate and nearly the same codebase as Polkadot. The network is an experimental development environment for teams who want to move fast and innovate on Kusama, or prepare for deployment on Polkadot.
Kusama was founded in 2019 by Gavin Wood, founder of Polkadot and co-founder and former CTO of Ethereum.
Launch your
custom blockchain
Fast
Iteration
Move fast and ship your product. Kusama’s risk-taking and nimble mentality allows developers to move swiftly through the governance and upgrade process, enabling rapid progress and growth.
Low Economic
Barriers
Launch your custom blockchain (parachain) project with low barriers to entry. Ideal for lean startups looking to move fast and iterate.
Advanced
Technology
Build on a next-generation, sharded, multichain network, while employing the newest features before they are deployed on Polkadot.
Open
Governance
Kusama is owned and governed by a community of network participants who vote on and control the evolution of the network. Have a voice and make your mark in the evolution of the network.
Engaged
Community
Leverage Polkadot’s global brand and developer community for your parachain, parathread or dApp.
Valuable
Experience
For teams looking to move to Polkadot after fine-tuning on Kusama, begin building your community and brand on Kusama before deployment.
Bring
to
your project
Innovation
Kusama is built by the same teams as Polkadot, using nearly the same code and tools. The network places the latest tech from Parity Technologies and Web3 Foundation in the hands of developers, even before those features make it to Polkadot.
Scalability
Kusama’s sharded blockchains and open governance provide a scalable and future-proof infrastructure for businesses, marketplaces and applications to deploy and mature.
Interoperability
Kusama brings multiple blockchains together into one sharded network, freeing developers from the siloes created by legacy blockchain networks.
Customization
With Substrate, developers can build their own app-specific blockchain and connect it to Kusama.
Develop on the
Canary
Network
Many teams will choose Kusama for their dapp or parachain and remain exclusively on Kusama. Other teams will join Kusama as a temporary preparation ground for deployment on Polkadot.
Parachains and Applications
- Gaming and eSports
- Messaging
- DAO
- Marketplaces
- Oracles
- Music
- Social Networking
KSM Token Utilization
- Validate the network
- Nominate validators
- Bond parachains or parathreads
- Vote on governance referenda
Built with Substrate
Your Substrate Blockchain is natively compatible with Kusama, making it simple to secure your blockchain and communicate with Kusama's network.
