Long KAS to Oktober 2025
2023-04-22

Yonatan Sompolinsky is the founder of Kaspa. In addition to his work on the GHOSTDAG protocol, Yonatan has extensive experience in blockchain research and development. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Hebrew University and has published numerous academic papers on topics related to blockchain technology. Yonatan started gaining a reputation within the cryptocurrency academic circle back in 2013 when he and Professor Zohar conceived the GHOST protocol, a protocol famous for being cited in the Ethereum whitepaper as a design goal. Yonatan currently holds a post-doctoral position at Harvard researching transaction ordering protocols and MEV.

Kaspa’s official website: kaspa.org

Kaspa is the world's first blockDAG, which stands for Directed Acyclic Graph, that uses proof of work. Unlike traditional blockchain architectures, where transactions are processed in a linear fashion, a blockDAG creates a graph of blocks, where each block has multiple child blocks. This unique approach allows Kaspa to achieve parallel processing, enabling multiple transactions to be confirmed simultaneously, resulting in lightning-fast transaction times.

The scalability of traditional blockchain architectures has been a major issue since the inception of Bitcoin (The blockchain trilemma). The linear structure of blockchains(linked list block structure) limits the number of transactions that can be processed in a given time, which has resulted in significant delays and high fees during times of network congestion. The blockDAG architecture of Kaspa allows for much greater scalability, allowing thousands, if not millions, of transactions to be processed simultaneously.(Current consensus mechanism used in kaspa is Phantom GhostDag and 1 block per second eprint.iacr.org , but over the next years they will try to implement the Dag Knight Protocol, eprint.iacr.org and rewrite the codebase from Golang to Rust that will improve the speed to about 32-100 BPS which will make Kaspa much faster and even more scalable than it is today.)

In addition to its scalability, Kaspa is also designed to be highly secure. It utilizes the kHeavyHash algorithm, a modification of the SHA-256 hashing algorithm used in Bitcoin, which allows for high hashing power per watt. This makes Kaspa's proof-of-work system highly energy efficient, while still maintaining the decentralization and security that is inherent to all cryptocurrencies.
Kaspa is also designed to be fully decentralized, meaning that anyone can participate in the network, and all participants have an equal say in the decision-making process. This is in stark contrast to centralized systems, where power is concentrated in the hands of a select few. By remaining decentralized, Kaspa ensures that it remains open, transparent, and resistant to censorship.

Another key feature of Kaspa is its instant transaction confirmation time. The blockDAG architecture allows for transactions to be confirmed almost instantly, providing a much smoother user experience than traditional blockchains. This feature is essential for the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies as a viable means of payment.

Overall, Kaspa represents a major leap forward in the evolution of blockchain technology. Its unique blockDAG architecture, combined with its scalability, security, and instant transaction confirmation times, make it an incredibly powerful and promising platform for the future of decentralized finance.