Kaspa (KAS): questions and answers
Every answer below is written from the sources listed at the end of this page, with the date each one was checked.
The question that decides how you read Kaspa
Every fast proof-of-work chain runs into the same wall: speed creates orphaned blocks, and orphans weaken security. Kaspa's whole design is an answer to that one problem.
In classic Nakamoto consensus, two miners who find blocks at nearly the same moment produce a conflict, and one block is discarded. The faster the network, the more often this happens — and each orphaned block is honest work that no longer defends the chain. Past a certain speed, an attacker needs meaningfully less than half the hashrate to succeed. That is the security-scalability trade-off Kaspa exists to attack.
What is still unsettled
Kaspa's trade-off is operational rather than theoretical. Ten blocks a second and a short pruning window mean nodes must be well-provisioned and well-maintained, and every scheduled hard fork is a coordination event where a lagging exchange or custodian can report wrong balances. The protocol's security argument is published and peer-reviewed; the question is whether the ecosystem around it keeps pace with the cadence of upgrades.
What this means when you swap KAS
Confirmations arrive very quickly — blocks are seconds apart, and services typically require a generous count that still clears in well under a minute. Addresses use a `kaspa:` prefix. There is no memo field.
The one thing to watch is software currency. Kaspa hard-forks on a published schedule, and an out-of-date node or wallet can fall off the network. If you are self-custodying, keep the wallet current; if you are depositing to a service around an upgrade window, confirm it has completed its own upgrade first.
Common KAS questions
- How do I swap Kaspa (KAS) instantly on Monivo?
- Pick KAS as the asset you want to receive, choose what you're paying with, paste your wallet address, and confirm. Monivo routes your order to the provider offering the best rate, and most swaps complete in under 10 minutes — no account needed.
- Can I swap KAS with no KYC?
- Yes. Crypto-to-crypto swaps of KAS on Monivo require no identity verification and no sign-up. Only fiat purchases (card or bank transfer) require KYC, because banks and payment processors mandate it.
- Is swapping Kaspa on Monivo non-custodial?
- Yes. Monivo never holds your funds. KAS is sent directly to the wallet address you provide, so you stay in control the whole time.
- Which network does KAS use here?
- Monivo supports Kaspa on the Kaspa network. Always double-check that your receiving wallet supports this network before confirming.
- What fees apply when I swap KAS?
- Monivo adds zero fees on top. The quote you see already reflects the strongest quote we found across connected providers, including their network and processing costs — all fees are included in the shown amount.
- Was there a premine or presale for Kaspa?
- No. The project states that mainnet launched in November 2021 as a fair-launched proof-of-work network with no premine, no presale and no insider allocation — every coin has been mined openly since genesis.
- Why does Kaspa produce so many blocks?
- Because it does not discard parallel ones. GHOSTDAG orders concurrent blocks into a graph rather than orphaning them, which is what allows a block rate of several per second without the security loss that fast single-chain designs suffer.
Sources and dates (4)
- PHANTOM/GHOSTDAG orders concurrent blocks to address proof-of-work's security-scalability trade-off. PHANTOM GHOSTDAG paper · 2021-11-10 · checked 2026-09-21
- Kaspa launched in November 2021 with no premine, presale or insider allocation. kaspa.org · 2021-11 · checked 2026-09-21
- The Crescendo hard fork raised mainnet from one to ten blocks per second and shortened the retention window. rusty-kaspa v1.0.0 release notes · 2025-05-05 · checked 2026-09-21
- The reference node was rewritten from Go to Rust as rusty-kaspa. kaspanet/rusty-kaspa repository · 2022-07-17 · checked 2026-09-21