Web3's Gavin Wood Launches Kusama Network to Test Polkadot Protocol

Developers will soon be able to test applications on a live version of blockchain interoperability protocol Polkadot.

As highlighted in a blog post by Polkadot creator Gavin Wood, it will be somewhere between one to four weeks before developers can begin tapping the full functionality of the network.

Once fully functioning, the Kusama network is expected to act as the proving ground for some of the most bleeding-edge technology planned for the actual Polkadot network, which is tentatively expected for launch early next year.

Already, one of the teams expected to build on Polkadot is planning to run its applications on Kusama in the coming weeks.

Running KILT's "Virtual structures" on Kusama will serve to answer many questions, Ruebe said, including the auctioning structure of Polkadot parachains.

Polkadot parachains are basically individual blockchains that rely on a central blockchain, called the relay chain for enhanced security and network interoperability.

According to Wood, the upfront cost for developers to lease a parachain slot on the Polkadot relay chain "Could be very expensive."

This is why the Kusama network will help test a new Polkadot innovation known as parathreads.

Parathreads, according to Wood, allow developers to deploy an application for a fixed fee and process one block on the network at a time.

It's precisely this kind of functionality that teams like KILT Protocol are eager to test out on Kusama.