Kaspa (KAS)

Overview

Kaspa is a proof-of-work cryptocurrency implementing the GHOSTDAG protocol, a generalization of Bitcoin’s Nakamoto Consensus that allows multiple blocks to coexist and be ordered without orphaning. This enables extremely high block rates while maintaining decentralization, security, and scalability — a trilemma solution within a PoW framework.

Launch Year: 2021
Origin: Original
Team: Yonatan Sompolinsky and Michael Sutton

Technical Details

Distributed Ledger Technology: BlockDAG (Directed Acyclic Graph)
Consensus Protocol: Proof of Work (PoW)
Consensus Mechanism: PHANTOM GHOSTDAG (Generalization of Nakamoto Consensus)
Hashing Algorithm: kHeavyHash
Block Time: ≈ 0.1 seconds
Transaction Finality: ≈ 7 seconds (instant tx visibility)
Max TPS Achieved: ≈ 5,584 TPS (On October 2, 2025)
Theoretical TPS Capacity: ≈ 40,000+ TPS (with 100 BPS upgrade)
Average Transaction Fee: ≈ $0.00001

Tokenomics

Circulating Supply: ≈ 26,793,221,633 KAS
Max Supply: 29,000,000,000 KAS (hardcoded)
Distribution Model: Fair launch — no pre-mine, ICO, or VC allocation. Emission follows a geometric decay model, with block rewards reducing smoothly over time instead of abrupt halvings.
Issue Price: N/A (fair-mined from genesis)

Decentralization

High — Kaspa is open-source and ASIC-friendly, encouraging broad participation in mining and node operation. Anyone with compatible hardware can join the network, making it one of the most decentralized PoW systems today.

Security

High — Backed by robust proof-of-work and the GHOSTDAG protocol, Kaspa achieves fast block confirmation without sacrificing the probabilistic security model of PoW. Its DAG structure resists 51% attacks more effectively than linear blockchains under high throughput.

Energy Efficiency

Moderate — While still PoW-based, Kaspa’s efficient block propagation and lower individual block energy cost make it significantly more energy-efficient per transaction than Bitcoin or Litecoin.