Kaspa Proves Fair Launch Can Fuel Blockchain Growth
Kaspa's unique funding setup has allowed it to grow without traditional venture capital investment. In contrast to many other blockchain projects, Kaspa didn't have a premine or insider allocation of tokens when its mainnet launched in November 2021.
This setup means that contributors fund specific initiatives through voluntary crowdfunding campaigns, managed by elected treasurers. One campaign raised around 70 million KAS for research that became the DAGKnight consensus protocol. Another campaign funded a community marketing effort with 750,000 KAS.
The Kaspa Ecosystem Foundation (KEF) and the Kaspa Industrial Initiative (KII) have also formed to provide grants, hackathons, and developer support. However, KEF's funding came from ICERIVER Ventures, a mining-hardware company, not from token holders' crowdfunding.
Despite its unique setup, Kaspa has delivered significant upgrades to its protocol, including the Crescendo hard fork, which increased block rate by tenfold, and native smart contracts through the Toccata hard fork. However, a recent security test showed that layer-2 tools built on top of the base protocol can carry risks.