Unhedged 𐤊

somebody somewhere | cross asset arb | ex private equity | @jpmorgan | @columbia

[Dr Martin Hiesboeck @MHiesboeck]

The Architectural Edge: Why Kaspa Outpaces Ethereum for DEX Infrastructure

Building a Decentralized Exchange (DEX) on a traditional single-chain blockchain like Ethereum is like trying to run a high-frequency trading firm on a narrow, one-lane highway. While Ethereum pioneered automated market makers (AMMs), its sequential design forces every transaction to wait in a single queue.

Kaspa’s BlockDAG architecture—complemented by the Toccata hard fork—rebuilds the Layer 1 foundation to handle the intensive demands of decentralized trading natively. Kaspa offers several architectural advantages that make it a superior backbone for a modern DEX compared to Ethereum.

Parallel Processing vs. Sequential Bottlenecks

Ethereum processes transactions sequentially. One block is added at a time, roughly every 12 seconds. When thousands of traders rush to swap assets during market volatility, the network bottlenecks, causing a massive surge in gas fees.

Kaspa replaces the single blockchain with a Directed Acyclic Graph (**BlockDAG**). Using the GHOSTDAG protocol, the network processes multiple blocks **in parallel** simultaneously (~10 blocks per second on mainnet). For a DEX, this means transactions don’t get jammed in a single queue; trades are woven together concurrently without degrading network performance.

Structural Defense Against Predatory MEV

Because Ethereum relies on a public mempool where a single block producer dictates the exact sequential order of transactions every 12 seconds, **Maximal Extractable Value (MEV)** bots thrive. They spot a pending trade and "sandwich" the user—buying right before them and selling right after—forcing the trader to execute at a worse price.

Kaspa's Advantage: Real-time decentralization dismantles the mechanics of MEV bots. With Kaspa producing blocks at a rapid-fire pace, there is no single consensus leader holding a monopoly over transaction ordering for long intervals. Rapid parallel block creation and real-time sequencing make it virtually impossible for bots to accurately predict the state and insert predatory sandwich attacks. Traders get the exact execution price they expect.

Sub-Second Latency (CEX Speed, DEX Security)

Waiting 12 seconds for a block—and minutes for true finality—is a lifetime in live trading. While Layer 2 rollups speed up execution, they fragment liquidity, introduce bridge vulnerabilities, and complicate the user experience.

Driven by the Rusty Kaspa engine, the network features sub-second block times. After just 10 seconds, a trade has accumulated roughly 10 layers of confirmation deep within the DAG structure. A DEX on Kaspa delivers the instant, responsive user experience of a Centralized Exchange (CEX) while settling entirely on an ultra-secure, decentralized Layer 1.
.
Predictable, Sub-Cent Transaction Fees

High traffic turns Ethereum into a playground for whales, where a simple token swap can easily cost $20 to $100+ in gas fees.

Because Kaspa scales horizontally at the base layer rather than relying on vertical scaling, the throughput handles massive volume natively. Transaction fees remain consistently sub-cent (<$0.01), making micro-swaps and algorithmic high-frequency trading economically viable for retail users.

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

@therollupco @multicoin @tushar_jain perhaps a closer look at $KAS where the cypherpunks still reside and build, shunning the spotlight. real time decentralization and censorship resistantance - only on PoW

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

@moxypixy15683 @KaspaCrypto @0x_arthurZ 👋 love to see the growing dev community

a potential architecture to solve state evolution problem to compress offchain interactions into single covenant object. some pretty interesting potential use cases could be unlocked ! @michaelsuttonil

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

@youbin_kang it might make sense to research the only scalable internet speed PoW with bitcoin security, censorship resistance and real time decentralization. ++programmability and native zk verification

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

@brt2412 i thought they support multiple addresses now

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

@elldeeone not to disincentive real devs on kas, but on surface clearly some things that warrant skepticism. but new acct based in japan, created in china and replies u in russian. no comment on where the stars align 😂

[IzioDev @IzioDev]

@parker2017 @ScapeSquad @hus_qy @Radical_Ed_Bad @kaspaunchained @ChadBallantyne @KaspaSilver https://t.co/57kCUQhtzF

[Yonatan Sompolinsky @hashdag]

since many (~4) asked me about the zcash bug - - - earlier this year I had this convo with a zcash core dev:

zk: it's weird that kaspa is pruning past records
me: why does it need to keep 'em?
zk: the whole point of ledgers is to prove correctness of all state transitions
me: the whole point of ledgers is to provide focal points for the consensus state
zk: the whole point...
me: hmm then why did you come work in zcash? you know the Sprout->Sapling counterfeiting bug
zk: Turnstile guarantees that the counterfeit could have been very limited
me: true but you still cannot prove or even reason about correct state transitions besides the total supply cap
zk: that's actually a good point

----

the most hardcore cryptography coin is shifting away from correctness proofs to practical-enough proofs. I believe this is a step in the right+practical direction, yet the paradigm shift should not go unnoticed - -cryptography is giving way to consensus.

if you came to zcash for cryptographic integrity, reconsider. there are many good reasons to root for zcash prospering. zcash is serving a more important role than bitcoin, whose utility for the original mission is by now blurry. cryptographic integrity is/should not be one of those reasons.

----

BTW the bug should definitely have been exploited. I don't know the personal values of Taylor Hornby, and I shouldn't be required to make the effort to learn them. I only know that if I found such an exploit, it wouldn't take me more than a few minutes to tempt myself into printing a longint amount of ZEC and deciding later what to do with it.

I wouldn't necessarily use it to exit the pool immediately and corrupt the supply, I'd wait to see if some portion of the broken pool does not seem to migrate on time (probably lost funds), in which case I would not think twice before claiming the funds myself.

you could argue that no harm done, and you might be right, but then again you are here -- in zcash / in crypto -- for its consensus dynamics, the ability to coordinate interests and convictions across different trust zones around some shared asset; not for some pristine mathematical integrity.

[𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐞 @Crypt0Proselyte]

Because #Kaspa is something the whole crypto has been chasing for 15 years.
BlockDAG + GHOSTDAG = pure fire. No more linear blockchain bottlenecks. $kas confirms blocks in seconds while staying fully decentralized and PoW-secure like Bitcoin. Real-time finality. This is what Satoshi dreamed of but scaled to the moon. Founder Yonatan Sompolinsky literally invented the GHOST protocol that Ethereum built on early Kaspa took it to the next level.

Crescendo hasalready shipped (May 2025) 10 BPS mainnet.
That’s 10 blocks per second, thousands of TPS right now. Rusty Kaspa (the Rust rewrite) is the official node standard since early 2026ultra efficient, rock-solid, and ready for more. Roadmap has 25-40 BPS by Q3 2026 and 100 BPS in sight for 2027. Hardware is the only limit. No congestion, no gas wars, ever.

Toccata Hard Fork dropping ANY DAY (Late June 2026). Native programmability, KRC-20 tokens, covenants, ZK verification opcodes all on L1. Kaspa just went from “fast money” to full programmable beast. Kaskad Lending (first DeFi protocol) already live on Igra L2 since late May. Smart contracts + DeFi + 10+ BPS = Solana-level speed but with real PoW security and zero VC baggage.

Fair launch, no premine, no insiders, 95%+ supply circulating. Pure community-driven PoW. Hashrate is healthy and growing. Top holders are spread out. This is the anti-VC, anti-rug, sound-money coin that actually delivers on Bitcoin’s original vision but usable for everyday payments right now.

Why is Kaspa THE ENDGAME?
Bitcoin = digital gold (store of value).
Kaspa = digital cash (actual p2p money that moves in real time). It solves the blockchain trilemma without compromises: insane scalability + ironclad decentralization + maximum security. No PoS centralization risks, no L2 fragmentation headaches. Just pure, fast, permissionless money that’s evolving into a full ecosystem. While everyone else is chasing narratives and VC pumps, Kaspa is quietly building the protocol that becomes the new TCP/IP of money. Low cap, massive tech edge, imminent catalysts, and the community that actually ships. it’s the final form of PoW crypto.

[Ori Newman @OriNewman]

**Official Toccata Release — Mainnet Hardfork Activation Included** (Links in reply)

We’re excited to announce the official Kaspa release containing the **Toccata Hardfork** activation logic.

Toccata is scheduled to activate on mainnet at DAA score `474,165,565`, expected around **June 30, 2026, 16:15 UTC**.

This is a consensus-changing upgrade. All node operators, miners, pools, exchanges, indexers, wallets, and infrastructure providers must upgrade before activation to remain compatible with the network.

Toccata introduces a major expansion of Kaspa L1 capabilities, including:

• **Native L1 covenant support** through transaction introspection, allowing for more expressive contracts, including stateful contracts
• **Covenant IDs**, providing stable covenant lineage across UTXO transitions, so covenant instances can preserve continuity as their state moves from one UTXO to the next
• **ZK proof verification on L1** via `OpZkPrecompile`, enabling to trustlessly offload computation off-chain.
• **Partitioned sequencing commitments**, improving support for based ZK applications by making lane-local proving scale with relevant activity rather than global throughput

Please upgrade as soon as possible and verify your nodes are running the new release well before the activation DAA score.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to designing, implementing, reviewing, and testing Toccata.

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

crypto doesnt need leadership in the traditional sense. and those building the foundations in true cypherpunk form presumably are more comfortable by the shield of shadows

the spotlight will come in due course when borne out of necessity and not commercial or purely financially driven intent

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

@hus_qy @Classicxbt date marked, waiting for the details! shoutout to @Kaspa_KEF for the support to enable contributors like Hans to be part of the core team 🙏

[Hans Moog @hus_qy]

That's a really good question, but it's hard to answer in a single tweet because our mission is quite extensive, and it requires a lot of background knowledge to really understand what sets Kaspa apart.

Currently, a lot of people see Kaspa as “Bitcoin’s crazy little brother” that improves time-to-finality by leveraging the benefits of DAG-based consensus protocols without accepting their traditional drawbacks, such as decreased decentralization or a limited validator set.

This perception is somewhat accurate, but it falls short of conveying the full picture, because Kaspa’s vision extends far beyond just trying to be a better Bitcoin.

Anyone willing to study Kaspa and its broader vision will discover similarities to nearly all major existing DLT designs: from Bitcoin, to Ethereum, to Solana, Sui, Celestia, and beyond.

My personal view is that “research” in the DLT space is approaching a point of convergence. We increasingly understand how to push distributed systems close to the limits of what physics permits. The frontier is no longer only about raw throughput or faster finality. The attention is shifting toward game theory, incentives, sequencing, MEV, alignment, and how to build systems where the economic incentives of users, builders, miners, validators, applications, and infrastructure providers do not work against each other.

That is why debates like based rollups versus arbitrary sequencing, shared sequencing, MEV mitigation, proposer-builder separation, and execution-layer incentives matter so much. These are not niche technical details. They determine whether a network can remain neutral, decentralized, and aligned while scaling to global usage.

And this is where I think Kaspa is pushing the boundaries in a very important way.

Kaspa is not merely trying to be “fast.” The goal is to build an L1 where speed, decentralization, security, and incentives are aligned at the base layer. A system that does not scale by hiding complexity behind trusted committees, privileged sequencers, centralized validator sets, or opaque coordination mechanisms, but instead tries to preserve the spirit of proof-of-work while extending what an L1 can realistically do.

Because Kaspa arrived later than many other major projects, it does not carry the same degree of technological debt. It can absorb lessons from Bitcoin, Ethereum, rollups, modular blockchains, high-throughput monolithic chains, DAG research, MEV research, and the broader history of decentralized systems, and combine those lessons into something more optimal.

To me, that is what Kaspa is building: not just a faster blockchain, but a more incentive-aligned decentralized infrastructure layer.

But this also creates a different challenge.

Kaspa’s biggest problem today is not its technology. It is the lack of centralized coordination around communicating the vision. And because Kaspa is a grass-roots movement, that responsibility does not belong to a marketing department, or a single leadership team. It belongs to the community.

That also means the community has a different role to play.

There will always be holders who are mainly interested in price, and that is completely fine. But there also need to be people who are here because they want to use the technology to build a different future. People who care about the architecture, the incentives, the open questions, the trade-offs, and the long-term trajectory of decentralized infrastructure.

I am one of those people.

I am not interested in DLTs merely as a way to generate wealth. I am interested in them because I believe they can change the trajectory of humanity as a whole.

For that reason, I want to use this opportunity to announce a regular community hangout where we discuss the current state of development, the open questions, and where we can align our vision together.

The first session will be on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026.

We will talk about the vProgs framework, how the codebase works, what sets Kaspa apart, where we improve on existing solutions, and what still needs to be done. The goal is for this to become a regular, possibly bi-weekly, event where we as a community come together to discuss the future and understand the technology.

Eventually, we can invite people from other projects as well, but the main focus at the beginning will be explaining and communicating how things work under the hood.

There is still a lot of work to be done, and I do not want to waste precious time. So the first sessions may feel a little improvised, but we can improve as we go.

The important thing is that we start.

So mark the date: Tuesday, June 9th, 2026.

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

something something

- fair launched, no premine
- POW, only other mined by MARA with BTC
- scalable generalization of nakamoto consensus
- founder first to public academic research on btc seucirty, founded ghost protocol (used and cited in early eth)
- sol speed, btc security/decentralization/censorship resistance with soon to be sui like object oriented prog

kaspa:native

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

@Matt_Hougan the analogy is poor. but HYPE is good. 🙂

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

bad take.
(1) for normal listcos like nvda, future equity offerings which dilute shareholders still raise cash on balance sheet to be deployed and generate returns
(2) fdv is more akin to free equity options / warrants which certainly do get taken into account for those that scrub real comps in equity value
(3) hype fdv maybe one can argue if over a long time horizon but still significant linear unlocks till 2027

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

- fair launched, no premine
- POW, only other mined by MARA with BTC
- scalable generalization of nakamoto consensus
- founder first to public academic research on btc seucirty, founded ghost protocol (used and cited in early eth)
- sol speed, btc security/decentralization/censorship resistance with soon to be sui like object oriented prog

[Unhedged 𐤊 @Unhedgedd]

reasonates and why i see, despite a late start, anti parasitic, l1 centric buildout of a pow protocol with btc security, real time decentralization with upcoming sovereign programmability + synchronous atomic composability being able to eat into eth’s market share. the only live protocol with multiple years of track record kaspa:native

[Tyler Bea @skibumtrading]

Hey @cobie did you know that Zooko and the founder of $KAS go way back?

Kaspa is another project with strong fundamentals you may want to look at:

- fair launched, proof-of-work
- running at 10 blocks/second
- 93% mined
- mined by @MARA
- true p2p eCash
- timeless narrative in the context of the BTC origin story
- native smart contracts being developed
- founder is Bitcoin OG, early work was used in Ethereum, XRP, and many other projects

[Alan Rogers @alanrog3]

Nobody is talking about $KAS.

But I am.

This is what a re-accumulation looks like before a breakout.

Do your research. This is mine 👇