Kadena

Kadena is a blockchain network that operates on the proof-of-work model, blending Bitcoin's consensus method with principles from directed acyclic graphs (DAG) to create a version of Bitcoin that can scale more effectively. Kadena asserts it can maintain the security level of Bitcoin while offering exceptional transaction throughput, making it appealing to both businesses and entrepreneurs. Its infrastructure is decentralized and specifically designed for widespread use, thanks to its multi-chain architecture.

Kadena aims to deliver industrial-level scalability capable of supporting worldwide financial systems and can expand as needed. It also promises to be energy-efficient at a large scale, processing more transactions without increasing energy consumption, distinguishing it from Bitcoin in this regard. Additionally, Kadena has introduced crypto gas stations, which let businesses cover gas fees for their customers, eliminating a significant barrier to blockchain adoption in the business world.

The network has already expanded from 10 to 20 blockchains and has the capability to scale further if necessary.

Kadena was established in 2016 by Stuart Popejoy and Will Martino. Before launching Kadena, Stuart Popejoy headed JPMorgan's Emerging Blockchain group and has 15 years of experience in designing trading systems and financial infrastructure. Will Martino was the Lead Engineer for JPMorgan's blockchain prototype, Juno, and led the Securities and Exchange Commission's Cryptocurrency Steering Committee and the Qualitative Analytics Unit. Another crucial figure in Kadena's founding is Dr. Stuart Haber, a co-inventor of blockchain technology and the most frequently cited author in Bitcoin's whitepaper.

Kadena has secured funding from several crypto venture capital firms, including Multicoin Capital, CoinFund, Amino Capital, among others.

Kadena stands out with its public proof-of-work blockchain that offers unmatched throughput by merging two distinct consensus mechanisms: DAG and proof-of-work.

In essence, Kadena accomplishes this by weaving together multiple chains, providing not just one but twenty individual blockchains that operate simultaneously and asynchronously to process transactions. This design enables Kadena to generate multiple blocks at once, thereby boosting its throughput. It also enhances security by reducing the time available for attackers between block confirmations.

Kadena leverages a directed acyclic graph structure to expand from a single proof-of-work blockchain to a potentially limitless number. However, its DAG structure is pre-set and multi-channel, ensuring Kadena's blockchains communicate with only three peer chains rather than confirming transactions randomly. This setup enhances real-world performance and scalability.

Kadena can adjust its scale based on user demand. However, the primary challenge remains adoption, as expanding and integrating more blockchains necessitates a network hard fork. In theory, Kadena could grow to encompass 50 or even 100 blockchains or more, depending on continued adoption. This expansion isn't automatic; when network congestion occurs, fees increase, motivating miners to form a DAO to collaborate on enlarging the network's size.

KDA is the native token of the Kadena blockchain, with a total supply capped at 1 billion KDA. It serves both as a payment for gas fees and as a reward for miners who create new blocks. Kadena pre-mined several rounds of KDA. In 2018, the first private token sale generated $2.25 million for 4.5 million KDA, and a second round raised $12.9 million for 17.2 million KDA. The distribution of KDA is as follows:

* Mining: 700 million to be distributed over a century
* Platform share: 200 million to be distributed over nine years
* Investors, strategic reserve, and contributors: 90 million
* Burned at launch: 10 million

As of now, 171 million KDA are in circulation. The token emission schedule will gradually decrease over time, and further details of Kadena's tokenomics can be found here.

Kadena employs a chain architecture known as Chainweb to link its multiple proof-of-work blockchains. Each chain is responsible for confirming blocks from its three peer chains, enhancing throughput linearly with the addition of new chains. This also boosts security by ensuring a unified transaction history across all chains. To carry out an attack, a malicious entity would need to fork every active chain, not just one.

The network's smart contracts are written in Pact, a human-readable and Turing-incomplete language specifically designed for blockchains with robust security features.

KDA is available for purchase on exchanges such as Binance, OKX, Mandala Exchange, KuCoin, and Gate.io.