Kaspa’s Fair Launch

The Nakamoto Ethos a Transparent and Inclusive Launch

DAGLabs and the Birth of Kaspa

Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, introduced the concept of a “fair launch” in cryptocurrency. This concept implies that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in the creation of a new cryptocurrency from the beginning. It ensures that those who create or support the project don’t receive any special privileges, there is no pre-sale or pre-mining of coins, and no one gets early access. To fully understand how the fair launch of Kaspa, a new cryptocurrency, took place, we need to delve into its roots, examine its founding principles, and explore how these were communicated to the public.

In 2021, DAGLabs faced hurdles due to the immaturity of optical mining hardware and insufficient funds. But their endeavors weren’t in vain, as the research and development performed under DAGLabs laid the groundwork for the inception of Kaspa, a novel proof-of-work cryptocurrency reflecting a generalized Nakamoto Consensus.

Plans of a Public Launch

The public launch of Kaspa was unveiled comprehensively, underscoring the commencement and growth of this innovative blockDAG cryptocurrency. This public disclosure was encapsulated in a Medium post by Yonatan Sompolinsky, published on September 21st, 2021. This document marked a crucial point in Kaspa’s journey, indicating a transparent dialogue with the public about planning the launch of this novel project and the beginning of its developmental journey.

Prior to this post, Sompolinsky engaged with the community on Twitter. On April 12th, 2021, he broadcasted a Tweet regarding the visual success of the Kaspa testnet. This significant event marked the beginning of the open conversation about Kaspa’s journey in the public eye.

As the dialog on Twitter sustained momentum, Kaspa started gaining attention in the larger finance domain. Investing.com, a well-known international investment news outlet, published on April 26th, 2021, announcing the official debut of Kaspa, a product of an Israeli startup. In a parallel development, Finance Magnates presented a piece on the emergence of Kaspa on the following day, underlining its prospective impact on the market.

Kaspa’s fair launch officially occurred on November 7th, 2021, without any pre-mine or pre-sale.

The Fair Launch

In a demonstration of transparency, Yonatan Sompolinsky documented the fair launch in “Kaspa Launch Plan (responding to reality).” This piece underscored the fair launch concept of Kaspa, marking a pivotal moment for cryptocurrency. He asserted the project’s independence, reiterating that it’s a community-oriented initiative. Such transparency and a community-centric approach reaffirmed the fair launch ethos of the Kaspa project.

On November 26th, 2021, Kaspa was operational and performing as designed. The success of their launch was reinforced through an announcement on BitcoinTalk, a popular cryptocurrency forum. This communication kickstarted Kaspa’s fair launch campaign, offering potential participants deeper insights into the project’s offerings and ensuring transparency.

It’s crucial to mention that throughout the Pre-Deflationary Phase (lasting six months until May 8th, 2022), Kaspa launched without a marketing team or the budget to hire one. It operated with a minimal crew of researchers, developers, and enthusiasts who relied on public announcements and social media platforms for organic growth and building a user base. The Kaspa community regularly updated about the project’s progress on various platforms, including Discord, Twitter, Telegram, GitHub, and Reddit, maintaining engagement and transparency.

True to the principles of a fair launch, there was no exclusive token distribution during Kaspa’s official launch. Everyone was simultaneously given equal access to the project, including DAGLabs and its employees, reaffirming Kaspa’s dedication to fairness.

Fair Launch = Crowdfunding

Given that Kaspa was launched fairly, there was no initial budget or centralized authority with funding reserves. As such, the community had no choice but to implement a crowdfunding model, which continues to be the bedrock of their funding infrastructure. Without significant investors or institutional backing, Kaspa relied on a system involving multi-signature wallets and treasurers elected by the community. This decentralized funding strategy empowers community members and fosters a sense of collective ownership and responsibility. This crowdfunding model enhances community governance and encourages transparent, democratic participation among its members.

Community Driven from the Beginning

Additionally, the community-controlled Kaspa decided a day before the launch to use kHeavyHash as the network’s mining algorithm. This algo was selected to prevent potential dominance by advanced hardware such as GPUs and FPGAs; the algorithm was slightly modified for CPU mining exclusively. This decision resonated with Kaspa’s commitment to a democratic and inclusive launch. Over time, GPUs and FPGAs were incorporated to further the distribution and decentralization of Kaspa, which recently began transitioning to ASIC miners.

The sequence of these events, the consistent open communication, equal coin distribution, and lack of paid marketing underline Kaspa’s dedication to a fair launch. The detailed project announcements on various public platforms solidify Kaspa’s fairness, marking it as a role model for cryptocurrency fair launches unseen since Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin. Kaspa’s approach also influenced Nexa to adopt a similar fair launch.

Tip: For more details and information on Kaspas fair launch visit: https://wiki.kaspa.org/en/faq

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