What is Kaspa (KAS) crypto?

Kaspa is a proof-of-work cryptocurrency built to confirm payments much faster than bitcoin while still relying on miners for security. Its native coin is KAS. The project describes itself as a fair launch, meaning no coins were created for founders or investors before mining began.

What is the Kaspa blockDAG?

On bitcoin, each new block points to one previous block, forming a single chain. If two miners find a block at nearly the same time, only one survives and the other is thrown away. Wasted blocks are one reason chains like bitcoin keep a long gap between blocks.

Kaspa uses a blockDAG (directed acyclic graph) instead. A new block can reference several earlier blocks, so blocks created in parallel are kept rather than discarded. The network then has to agree on an order for all of those blocks and their transactions.

What is GHOSTDAG?

GHOSTDAG is the rule Kaspa uses to put blocks in order. It comes from a 2018 research paper by Yonatan Sompolinsky, Shai Wyborski and Aviv Zohar called PHANTOM and GHOSTDAG. The paper describes a way to extend Satoshi Nakamoto's original design so that more blocks can be produced at once, with honest nodes eventually agreeing on one ordering.

The practical effect is speed. Kaspa ran at one block per second after launch. The Crescendo hard fork, scheduled in the node software for May 5, 2025, raised that to 10 blocks per second. The Kaspa wiki describes faster rates as a longer-term goal. For how upgrades of this kind work, see hard fork vs soft fork.

How does Kaspa mining work?

Kaspa is secured by proof of work, the same broad method bitcoin uses. Miners compete to solve a puzzle, and the winners earn newly created KAS. Kaspa's puzzle uses an algorithm called kHeavyHash. The project's mining page says it can be mined with graphics cards, FPGA chips and specialized mining equipment.

New coins are issued per second rather than per block, so changing the block rate does not change how many coins are created. The reward per block simply shrinks. Issuance falls over time on a schedule tied to the network's own block counter rather than calendar dates. According to the Kaspa wiki, the code caps supply below 29 billion KAS, with total issuance estimated at about 28.7 billion and new issuance ending roughly 36 years after launch.

What is Kaspa used for?

Kaspa's main purpose is sending value from one person to another, much like bitcoin, but with blocks arriving many times a second. Supporters see it as a test of whether proof of work can scale without moving to a different security model.

Its claims about speed and fairness are the project's own, and early-stage networks can change their rules through upgrades. The guide on how to research a crypto project covers questions worth asking about any coin.