What is Kusama (KSM)?

Kusama is a multichain network built on nearly the same code as Polkadot, designed as a place where new features go live first with real money at stake. The Polkadot Wiki calls it a canary network, named after the canaries once used to warn miners of danger, and warns users to expect chaos. Its native token is KSM.

What is Kusama network?

Kusama was announced by the Web3 Foundation, the group behind Polkadot founded by Gavin Wood, and launched in the summer of 2019, according to The Block. It was pitched as an early, unaudited release of Polkadot for high-risk projects and developers testing parachains, the connected chains described in the Polkadot guide. DOT holders were entitled to an equal share of KSM.

The Wiki says Kusama has no central kill switch. KSM holders control it through on-chain governance, and changes such as runtime upgrades, governance features and parachains are often tried there before Polkadot.

In July 2025, the Web3 Foundation committed 10 million DOT to help Kusama become an independent, community-run network, The Cryptonomist reported. Its stated focus areas include zero-knowledge proofs, proof of personhood for digital identity and artistic and social experiments. The funds are to be released over time through on-chain bounties.

What is Kusama crypto used for?

The Wiki lists KSM's uses as paying transaction fees, staking as a validator or nominator, voting and delegating in governance, placing referendum deposits and buying coretime, the blockspace that connected chains need to run.

Like Polkadot, Kusama has moved everyday features off its central relay chain. OnFinality reports that Kusama finished moving balances and staking activity to Asset Hub, a system chain, on October 7, 2025, ahead of Polkadot's own move. Network updates continue: a Kusama runtime upgrade enacted around March 17, 2026 added a new proxy type for staking operators, according to the Polkadot Forum.

The Wiki notes that Kusama does not support smart contracts natively on its relay chain, though apps are built on chains connected to it.

What is the difference between Kusama and Polkadot?

The two share an almost identical code base, and both produce blocks every six seconds. The main differences are speed of change and stakes involved:

• Faster timelines. Web3 Foundation's education site says a staking era lasts 6 hours on Kusama versus 24 hours on Polkadot, and governance and unbonding periods have historically been much shorter on Kusama.
• Purpose. Polkadot aims to be stable infrastructure. Kusama is meant for testing and, since 2025, for open experiments.
• Community. The education site describes Kusama's community as smaller and more focused on developers.

KSM and DOT are separate tokens on separate networks. The basics of locking tokens to help secure a network are in the guide to crypto staking, and staking on either network can carry slashing penalties.