Kusama, the canary network for Polkadot, is going live with the very first slot auctions hosted on a decentralized and heterogeneously sharded blockchain. A canary network like Kusama is a high end testnet for Polkadot, which happens to be the only parachain in the crypto space. Kusama is much more than a testnet like every other budding blockchain project: it is a network described as being a living platform built for change agents to take back control, spark innovation and disrupt the status quo.
Gavin Wood, one of the main founders of Ethereum, has continued to follow much of the same ethos that Ethereum was built on, that people who interact with technology are being systematically pushed into the corner by large establishments and need to blaze a path that suits the greater good of society. Wood founded Polkadot with the idea of allowing private or custom sidechains to connect with public blockchains.
Polkadot (DOT) has had parabolic growth since the beginning of 2020, paving the way for PolkaFoundry, Alcala, ChainX and the rest of the dApps or projects that now consist of the PolkaProject Index.
The Origin of the Parachain Prepper
When a project hits Kusama, it’s a big prospect being primed by some of the brightest blockchain minds in the space in the Kusama council as well as KSM stakeholders. With Kusama’s network built on Substrate and its codebase being nearly the same as Polkadot, the platform is perfect for teams who want to build with purpose and speed. Being tested in the Polkadot ecosystem on Kusama means the parachain or dApp is highly touted and just one step away from the big leagues.
Kusama offers next-gen, sharded, multichain features which integrate the newest developments in the blockchain space. The open governance allows anyone to join the Kusama network which is operated by forward thinkers who have serious aspirations to grow a web3 ecosystem. Putting a parachain or dApp on Kusama grants it invaluable exposure through the Polkadot brand and the developer community associated with it.
The difference between many projects that are built on Kusama and what is happening now with the Polkadot Parachain Auction is that most projects are custom blockchains often having private business functions. The process of allowing private businesses to thrive through bridging their private blockchain with the public blockchain is going to be an essential and necessary element to the success of web3.
Parachain Slot Auctions Prepare to Go Live
Just last week, Statemine began processing permissionless transactions as a solitary chain on Kusama. What had started as the very first live parachain project named Shell and deployed a week prior to that has now evolved into Statemine after a successful week-long run with relatively no pressure or functionality.
This evolution brings the following functionality to Statemine:
- Permissionless creating, issuing and transferal of non-fungible tokens as well as fungible assets.
- Being the lowest-cost destination to hold and transfer KSM.
As it stands, KSM can be moved from Kusama and Statemine via the Polkadot Cross Consensus. However, without much community involvement, Statemine is stale. This calls for the Parachain Slot Auctions which will allow the market and Kusama network community to select which parachains should be added to the Kusama relay-chain.
Gavin Wood has acknowledged that the Kusama council and KSM stakeholders make the final decision on all projects in the Kusama ecosystem but believes that the Parachain Slot Auctions should be fully functional and ready to go. Wood recommends the following schedule for the rollout:
- 2021/06/15, 12:00 GMT: First Kusama Parachain Slot auction commences. Bids may be placed.
- 2021/06/17, 09:00 GMT: First Kusama Parachain Slot auction ending period begins. Only bids made prior to this point will certainly be considered in the final result. Bids made following this point have a linearly reducing chance of being considered.
- 2021/06/22, 09:00 GMT: First Kusama Parachain Slot auction bidding ends. No bids may be made on this auction following this point.
- 2021/06/22, 11:00 GMT: First Kusama Parachain Slot auction winner selected. The auction winner is determined as the highest bidder at some randomly selected point over the past five days.
- 2021/06/22, 12:00 GMT: Second Kusama Parachain Slot auction commences.
- 2021/06/29, 12:00 GMT: Third Kusama Parachain Slot auction commences.
- 2021/07/06, 12:00 GMT: Fourth Kusama Parachain Slot auction commences.
- 2021/07/13, 12:00 GMT: Fifth Kusama Parachain Slot auction commences.
The momentum of Polkadot’s success has allowed Gavin Wood to focus on solidifying a game-changing test network which is birthing parachains and dApps at a phenomenal rate. The Kusama Parachain Slot Auction will be something that blockchain researchers and investors will not want to miss.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
