Kadena (KDA): Building Blockchains With Industrial Scalability

Blockchain technology offers many promises, such as enhancing security, protecting privacy and more. While the blockchain technologies produced today have made grand promises, the unfortunate reality is that the technology has not been widely adopted because of problems and insufficiencies with existing blockchain applications. 

Current blockchain technologies have been developed as private blockchain applications. Kadena, however, is a dual-layered blockchain system with numerous attractive traits, and it has been designed to encourage widespread adoption. A closer look at how this technology works will shed light on its profound features and abilities.

What Is Kadena?

Kadena is an innovative Layer 1 blockchain ecosystem that is designed to benefit builders across the spectrum regardless of their expertise. This scalable blockchain technology supports community projects led by early Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 companies.

The Team Behind Kadena

As a scalable, two-layer, proof of work (PoW) technology, this blockchain technology has been designed from the ground up to give developers an infrastructure-level performance for their blockchain projects. The Kadena platform was founded in 2016 by William Martino and Stuart Popejoy. Popejoy headed the Emerging Blockchain group at JPMorgan, while Martino served as the Tech Lead for the Cryptocurrency Steering Committee of the SEC. This pair built the JPM Coin together, which was JPMorgan’s first attempt at blockchain development.

Other notable players in the blockchain world are directly active with the technology. They include Dr. Stuart Haber, cited in the Bitcoin white paper of Satoshi Nakamoto, who co-invented blockchain. They also include Dr. Scott Stornetta. Along with Haber, Stornetta developed time-stamping documents more than two decades before the debut of Bitcoin. This core group of individuals, along with many other accomplished experts, have the primary goal of using a smart contract language that would take blockchain technology to a new level.

How Does Kadena Work?

Kadena is a unique platform that stands apart from other blockchain technologies through its design and features. Notably, it uses a proof of work function to address issues that have plagued other platforms. Specifically, the design of this blockchain technology optimizes scalability and throughput. Scalability is improved through braided chains, and security is on par with what Bitcoin can deliver.

Notable platforms such as Bitcoin and Ethereum use single-chain architecture. Because of this, their proof of work cannot be scaled in the same way as Kadena’s. The multi-chain, braided structure of the Kadena blockchain creates limitless throughput capabilities. In fact, its scalability accommodates millions of trades daily.

The Kadena ecosystem also stands apart from private blockchain systems in other key areas. For example, it aligns the interests of all blockchain participants through the allocation and distribution of coins. Its customized process for doing so creates sustainability, scalability and security.

The blockchain is designed with the smart contracts development language known as “Pact.” To promote the functionality of this blockchain, Pact has been cleanly developed specifically for developers and non-developers alike to read and employ. With more than two years of experience, the functionality of Pact has been put to full use. The language lays the framework for exciting features that are still in the works for other projects. Its active qualities cover interoperability, multi-sign, error messaging and more. Added to the specific design of this smart contract language is its use of transactional logic. This logic integrates workflow, data management and authorization seamlessly.

Features of Kadena Blockchain Network

The primary concept behind this blockchain was to create a technology that was easy enough for both developers and non-developers to use for application development. At the same time, it is designed with scalability in mind. Notably, this blockchain network can process more than 200 transactions per second (TPS) while also confirming transactions within 10 seconds.

The robust capabilities and incredible functionality of this blockchain network are both supported and enhanced by a number of great features. What makes the Kadena network stand apart from other technologies currently in use, or being developed today?

Industrial Scalability

Across a wide range of industries, Kadena can be applied with a focus on speed, security and scalability. Its scalability is supported by readable smart contracts as well as private blockchain and public blockchain protocols. The language of Pact supports optimized functionality in an easy-to-use way. At the same time, the technology uses a series of braided chains that allows it to be fully scalable for a wide range of applications. 

While many other seemingly comparable technologies have some of these functionalities in the works, they have yet to achieve what this blockchain network has already been successfully doing for more than two years.

Pact Smart Contracts

Kadena's smart contract language, Pact, was developed for enterprise-level applications. Without getting a headache, non-programmers can use Pact to create scalable solutions. The rudimentary language is oriented around the use of secure smart contracts. At the same time, it promotes efficiency and offers superior functionality through its straightforward design. Notably, Pact has been developed on Tendermint, the software solution that has been created specifically for launching blockchains.

Zero-Cost Transactions

Kadena uses KDA as its native cryptocurrency. Block mining and computational power are paid for with KDA. This means that KDA is paid by users to include individual transactions in a block. This practice also applies on a larger scale to a block of transactions. However, transaction fees for consumers are minor, and some businesses are able to eliminate transaction fees altogether using this blockchain technology. This innovative network has a cryptocurrency gas station that negates the need for transaction fees. In the process, it removes a major roadblock that has prevented the mass adoption of other similar technologies.

Energy Efficient

It is easy to assume that the efficient use of energy would plummet as transactions are scaled. While this may be the case with some lesser platforms, it is not the case for Kadena. The idiosyncratic design of this technology enables its energy consumption to remain constant even when demands on the network skyrocket. Because of this special quality, you will find that energy efficiency is optimized to greater levels as the number of transactions completed per second increases. Notably, the scalability of this technology also affects speed efficiency. Through efficiency, this network can be progressively scaled to higher levels without jeopardizing its overall functionality in any way.

Security

The founders of Kadena, Stuart Popejoy and William Martino, originally teamed up at JPMorgan to develop the JPM Coin. Through that important professional experience, Popejoy and Martino saw clearly that existing blockchain solutions have solid limitations in security. Because of Kadena’s functionality on proof of work, it offers a level of security and reliability that you will not find with other similar solutions.

Kadena Chainweb Layer 1

Kadena operates as a hybrid blockchain with two distinctive layers — Chainweb and Kuro. Chainweb is the first layer, and it’s a public blockchain, which means any user can contribute to the ledger. This enhances functionality, but this type of layer is usually not as fast as a private blockchain. Notably, Chainweb had only 10 chains prior to August 2020. Later, it was upgraded to 20 braided chains. The upgrade is what established improved scalability without negatively impacting the blockchain network’s security. Be aware that Bitcoin and many other similar technologies use only one chain.

Kadena Kuro Layer 2

The second layer that Kadena operates with is Kuro, which is Kadena's private blockchain. This means only those who have been invited to use the technology can do so. Administrators, understandably, allow only those whom they trust to access the system, so this facilitates security. Kuro functions at a much faster rate than Chainweb. In fact, it’s capable of processing 8,000 transactions per second, and this is spread over 500 nodes. Combined, Chainweb and Kuro support the processing of 480,000 transactions per second.

Kaddex

Kaddex is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that is built on Kadena’s well-designed blockchain. Because the system will be scaled linearly, gas available through the blockchain system’s cryptocurrency gas station remains free, regardless of how large Kadena grows. 

Kaddex has other exciting qualities as well. For example, because it is integrated with minimum trade size splits and state channels, it promotes security. At the same time, it has a faster confirmation time, a faster transaction processing time and a higher level of resilience. Kaddex also enables stakers to earn passive income through their activities. Kaddex’s unique features include swapping, pooling, staking and building.

Kadena Block Explorer

The Kadena Block Explorer works in a similar fashion as the Etherscan from Ethereum. It shows recent transactions on a per-second rate as well as the mining difficulty. This information, known as the hash rate, builds proof of work blockchains. A higher hash rate indicates greater security. Hackers can break into a system and alter transaction data, reverse transactions and take other steps to cheat the system. Kadena Block Explorer also provides a readout for the circulating supply of coins, block height and the number of transactions.

Kadena Chain Relay

The Kadena Chain Relay was officially launched in July 2021 to give users the chance to help secure the chain relay through bonding KDA. These users, referred to as bonders, will help by operating software that proposes and endorses bridged data. This process is meant to allow Kadena to establish robust economic security for bridging activities. In return, bonders are rewarded for their active participation with fees in the form of competitive APY and activity fees.

Use Cases of Kadena

While Kadena has been active for only a few years, it’s already being used successfully in a variety of ways. Its security, scalability and even its free-of-charge gas stations make this a desirable technology that will undoubtedly continue to be adopted by many others going forward. Already, Kadena has connected to the Ethereum Mainnet. This cross-chain bridging has also been completed with such notables as Polkadot and Terra. Kadena also works with Amazon and other major entities.

Looking ahead, Kadena will soon be adopted by play-to-earn games. These are trending in popularity, and Kadena is perfectly suited to support them. In addition, Kadena is actively offering grants to encourage the development of new projects. The application for the development grants is available through the blockchain’s website.

KDA Tokenomics

The price of Kadena’s token, KDA, fluctuates regularly in the same way that other cryptocurrency prices fluctuate. In some cases, the change in price has been extreme. For example, KDA’s price jumped by 1,400 percent between October and November 2021. The spike has been correlated with positive media attention. This was followed by a notable correction.

Currently, miners have the largest allocation of KDA tokens as encouragement for completing mining transactions. However, the mining rate of KDA is expected to halve annually. This means that miners will receive half of what they got in the previous year for mining a block. This is reminiscent of Bitcoin's strategy, which halves its mining rate every four years. It is important to note that Kadena’s mining schedule can be adjusted at any time. Adding to KDA’s tokenomics is the fact that allocations for investors and contributors will be fully vested this year.

Generally, tokens worth approximately $5.8 million in U.S. dollars are staked by the Kadena community every 20 minutes. This reflects the community’s focus on yield farming and its commitment to decentralized finance. These important factors may ultimately help drive the coin’s demand in the months and years to come.

Kadena Road Map

Kadena’s development has progressed impressively with the accomplishment of major milestones. The platform’s development, for example, has included the Ledger dev-beta release, the development of Chainweb Mainnet 2.12, the release of Pact 4.2.0 and more. Advancements in the development of the ecosystem are also notable. They include listing on the Binance exchange, refreshing developer documentation and launching Kadena Eco.

Looking forward, much more work still needs to be done on Kadena. Plans for the ecosystem include the development of Pact Core v1, employing the Ledger hardware wallet, supporting a Chainweaver token, integrating with WalletConnect and achieving other milestones. Likewise, there are ecosystem projects in the works, such as creating an infrastructure for lending, launching a sustainable mining initiative, establishing more partnerships for growth, completing phase two of the ecosystem initiative and other efforts.

KDA Price Prediction

It’s important to note that it’s not possible to accurately predict the future value of a cryptocurrency asset. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and are affected by numerous factors. However, many experts agree that the value of KDA tokens will generally trend upward for at least the next year. The token’s all-time low of $0.12 occurred in January 2021. The all-time high, $28.25, was in November 2021. Its current value reflects a correction after that spike. Looking ahead, some experts believe that KDA’s future price could reach $11.06 in 2023 and $14.54 by 2025.

Where to Buy KDA

You can see that investing in KDA tokens could be a lucrative move. Kadena is an innovative technology that addresses many of the challenges that have plagued other blockchains and inhibited the viability of the technologies. Because of Kadena’s differences, however, it makes sense to turn your attention to the purchase of KDA tokens today. KDA tokens are available through several exchanges. 

One of these is Bybit. Through Bybit, you can purchase KDA tokens as perpetual contracts at the current market value, and you can hold your tokens until you wish to sell or use them. The tokens can conveniently be purchased through this platform after you create and fund your account. These steps can be completed quickly through an online process.

Is KDA a Good Investment?

Kadena has numerous standout traits that differentiate it from other blockchains. For example, it uses 20 chains braided together rather than a single chain as other blockchains use. This allows for speed and efficiency, reliability and scalability. Kadena also uses a gas station system to allow transactions to be completed without transaction fees. Even Kadena’s programming language, Pact, is engineered differently to accommodate use by both developers and non-developers for optimized functionality.

Much work has already been done on the Kadena system, but the blockchain’s developers have more great plans in mind. With all of these factors taken into consideration, KDA tokens are built on a stable, high-level blockchain that’s still improving. This means there’s considerable upside potential for an investment in KDA tokens.

The Future of Kadena

This is a well-designed blockchain that’s quickly positioning itself as a leader in the pack. It offers advancements and features that even Bitcoin and Ethereum don’t offer, such as scalability. At the same time, the blockchain’s founders and developers continue to work on the blockchain daily to boost its functionality to even higher levels. From launching wrapped native tokens on Kadena to enhancing the Wallet API to accommodate multiple transactions, Kadena continues to be a work in progress. In fact, its future progression also includes being listed on more U.S. exchanges, focusing on marketing to promote Kadena’s winning features, updating Marmalade and showcasing current and upcoming projects.

With hundreds of cryptocurrencies available to invest in today, it can be challenging to determine which options have true staying power and growth potential. However, with all of this blockchain's current and upcoming features and accomplishments, it’s a blockchain to keep an eye on and to invest in.

The Bottom Line

Kadena is a proof of work blockchain that rises up to accomplish feats where other blockchains fall flat. At the same time, it continues to evolve as its skilled developers make regular advances in its design, technology, availability and promotion.