After seeing the prices of cryptocurrencies soar as much as 1,000% in just a few weeks, you may be tempted to jump on the crypto bandwagon and invest some money into these newly valuable currencies. But hold your horses! Before you invest, it’s important to look beyond the hype and investigate the truth behind these coins, how they were created, and who stands to profit from them – because odds are that billionaire isn’t Satoshi Nakamoto or Charlie Lee.
What is a Kusama token?
Kusama is a cryptocurrency created by the co-founder of Ethereum, Gavin Wood. It is based on the Polkadot protocol and is intended to be used as a Canary Network or testnet for Polkadot. Kusama tokens are required to be staked in order to participate in governance and earn rewards. There is a total supply of 10 billion KSM, with no additional tokens to be minted. 60% of this will be sold to raise funds. Of these, 30% will go towards development costs, 30% towards marketing and team salaries, 20% towards a contingency fund, 5% towards legal fees and any other unforeseen costs. And finally 5% will go towards R&D efforts for building other cryptocurrencies on top of the Polkadot protocol. In comparison to Ethereum’s current sale which has left many feeling like they missed out due to being crowded out at an earlier stage because there are only 1 million ETH available for purchase during its first year (plus 100 million generated per year), it is not hard to see why so many people have rushed in early with so much excitement! However, if you think about how Bitcoin’s very first block was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto alone who had mined the majority of all Bitcoins, it is difficult to imagine that all 10 billion KSM will ever be obtained by one person. So what should you do? If you’re someone who wants to buy some but don’t want to spend thousands then now might not be your time!
How are tokens created?
Kusama is a crypto project led by billionaire entrepreneur Polkadot creator Gavin Wood. The native token of the Kusama network is called KSM, and it was created through a process called an initial coin offering (ICO). In an ICO, a percentage of the total supply of tokens is sold to early investors in exchange for funds to build the project. In Kusama’s case, 10% of the total 10 billion KSM tokens were sold in the ICO. The remaining 90% are held by the development team to fund future operations and growth. An important aspect of an ICO is that they usually involve the creation of utility tokens which offer access to the product or service that company offers. In this way, companies can still sell a service without having to create their own currency or rely on traditional banking institutions. For example, if you want to buy coffee at Starbucks with your Kusama wallet app, you will have to pay in either dollars or bitcoins first; then you can use those fiat currencies via your cryptocurrency wallet app as payments within the app itself. So what’s happening with all these tokens?: After its launch on April 1st 2018, KSM prices soared from just $0.80 cents per token up to $2 each in less than two weeks!
Who can buy them, and how much do they cost?
Kusama is a decentralized network of canary chains, each of which is connected to the Polkadot network. Kusama crypto tokens are used to staking and governance on the network. The native currency of Kusama is KSM, and it can be bought with other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). You can also buy KSM with fiat currencies like US dollars (USD) on some exchanges. Kusama tokens are not currently available on Coinbase. To purchase KSM tokens for yourself, you will need to use another cryptocurrency exchange or find someone who will trade with you in person. Cryptocurrency exchanges that have listed KSM include TradeOgre, CoinExchange, Mercatox, Livecoin, CoinBene and OTCBTC. As of February 2019, 1 ETH will get you about 110 KSM tokens.
What can you do with them, then?
Well, you can trade them, obviously. But beyond that, you can also use them to purchase goods and services, or even other cryptocurrencies. Some people view them as an investment, hoping that their value will go up over time. Others see them as a way to support the businesses or causes they care about, by using them to buy products or services from those companies. Some experts think that Bitcoin could become a global currency of sorts, like what gold is today. They say Bitcoin might be less vulnerable to fluctuating values than traditional currencies, because it’s not tied to any country’s economy or financial system.
But there are plenty of risks too: As with anything else having to do with cryptocurrency, fraudsters are everywhere on the internet looking for victims. So if you’re going to get involved in this new world of money-making possibilities, be sure you know what you’re doing first!
If it’s not money, what is it good for, then?
Cryptocurrencies have been on a tear lately, with Bitcoin leading the pack. But behind the scenes is a wealthy Japanese man named Yusaku Maezawa. He’s been buying up Bitcoin and driving up the price. Some people think he’s a genius, while others believe he’s part of a giant cryptocurrency scam. So, what’s the truth? His fortune has grown from $2 billion to $5 billion in just three years—an unheard-of accomplishment in today’s volatile market. While it may seem like this is mostly luck, his investments into high-risk stocks, plus technology and fashion trends among other fields have helped propel him to the top of Japan’s wealthiest list for 2018. And now, that same wealth is being used to drive up Bitcoin prices in hopes that it will become an international currency. His current strategy includes purchasing large quantities of coins from investors who want to sell them at a higher rate than they would get from other exchanges (though these trades can only be done anonymously). As more people learn about his plan, they’re throwing their money into BTC too—driving up its value even more.
And will it make rich people richer than ever before?
Kusama is a new cryptocurrency that’s been getting a lot of attention lately. And for good reason – it’s backed by one of the richest people in the world, Bill Gates. But is Kusama a scam? And will it make rich people richer than ever before? Let’s take a closer look. The currency has drawn comparisons to Bitcoin and Ethereum because it shares some similarities with these two other cryptocurrencies. One major difference between Kusama and Bitcoin is that Bitcoin can’t be exchanged with any other currency, while Kusama can be exchanged with any government-issued currency (including but not limited to USD). So if you want to use bitcoins but don’t have access to dollars or Euros, then you’re out of luck. On the other hand, if you want to buy something online using Euros but don’t have access to your credit card or PayPal account, then Kusama might be just what you need!