Kusama Parachain Auction Progress
The first Kusama parachain slot auction officially began on June 15 at 7:00 PM UTC. Participants should note that Polkadot-JS automatically displays crowdloan winners as "bids" within the auction interface.
On June 16, an interesting milestone occurred: the total cap of all project crowdloans exceeded the existing supply of KSM tokens. It's important to understand that these caps are set by the participating teams themselves, and projects don't need to reach their maximum cap to participate in the auction.
The random ending period for Kusama's first slot auction commenced on June 17 at 4:00 PM UTC. Once this period begins, the auction can conclude at any moment, though the exact ending time will only be determinable retrospectively after the auction officially closes on June 22.
As of June 17, there have been 81 requests for parallel chain IDs. This data can be verified by checking the chain state at registrar.nextParaId and subtracting 2000 (since non-system, non-common good chain IDs start from 2000).
Among these 81 registered IDs, 13 have been registered as parathreads, with 12 of them initiating crowdloans on Kusama.
For those who find the various parameters on the crowdloan page confusing, there's a helpful resource that provides simple explanations of all relevant terms and settings.
Community Initiatives and Treasury Proposals
The KusaMEME competition focusing on parachain themes has officially launched! This meme contest allows participants to win various prizes by creating Kusama-themed memes and completing similar creative tasks.
Hypercube has completed two explanatory video series funded by the Kusama Treasury. If you're interested in contributing to Kusama through content creation or other valuable activities, consider applying for treasury funding yourself.
SubQuery and Fearless are currently seeking feedback from the Kusama Council regarding their proposal for a dApp-focused GraphQL API solution.
Polkashots, which stores database snapshots for both Kusama and Polkadot, has applied for Kusama Treasury funding to integrate IPFS and cover operational costs. This proposal is currently awaiting feedback from the Kusama Council.
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Current Auction Status Snapshot
As of the latest update:
- The ending period for the first auction continues for approximately 2 more days, with an expected conclusion around June 22 at 4:00 PM UTC
- Currently, 12 projects have initiated crowdloans on Kusama
- A total of 727,305 KSM (representing 6.5% of all KSM) has been locked in crowdloan campaigns
- Karura currently leads the crowdloan activities with support from approximately 14,000 accounts and nearly 500,000 KSM contributed
- The staking rate on the Kusama network has decreased to 47%
Polkadot Ecosystem Developments
Premiurly has submitted a treasury proposal focused on hosting and maintaining Polkassembly, which is currently awaiting feedback from the Polkadot Council.
During this week's Substrate Seminar, Kian presented an insightful discussion on try-runtime functionality, which is available for replay.
For those interested in Polkadot governance, there's an active community channel where participants discuss governance change proposals. Wei Tang has outlined a proposal to increase the number of Polkadot Council members to 17, and this governance improvement proposal has been moved to Polkassembly for broader discussion.
The Polkadot Council has approved Figment's treasury proposal to use DOT tokens as incentives for their Figment Learn educational program.
Polkadot Ecological Research Institute is seeking Polkadot Treasury funding to produce Chinese-language content about Polkadot, with this proposal currently awaiting Council feedback.
Developers interested in building parachains, infrastructure, or applications on Polkadot can explore and apply to join Parity's Substrate Builders Program.
Important Technical Clarifications
Participants should be aware that Polkadot-JS displays the current highest crowdloan bid directly as a "bid" in the Auctions section. However, this bid is "virtual" in nature, as actual crowdloan bidding occurs automatically when the random ending period begins.
Parity Technologies is currently seeking a Lead JavaScript Engineer to join the PolkadotJS team. The position requires experience leading large JavaScript/TypeScript projects and previous work in open-source software development.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a parachain and a parathread?
Parachains have guaranteed block space by leasing a slot through auction, while parathreads pay on a per-block basis. Parathreads offer a more flexible option for projects that don't require continuous block space.
How does the random ending period work in Kusama auctions?
The random ending period introduces uncertainty about the exact ending time. Once this period begins, the auction can end at any block, though the actual ending time is only determined retrospectively after the auction concludes.
What happens to contributed KSM if a project doesn't win an auction?
If a project doesn't win a parachain slot, all contributed KSM is returned to participants. The crowdloan mechanism is designed to protect contributors by automatically returning funds to unsuccessful bids.
How can developers get started with Substrate?
Developers can begin with the comprehensive documentation and tutorials available at Substrate.dev, which provides everything needed to start building blockchain applications using Substrate framework.
What is the purpose of the Kusama Treasury?
The Kusama Treasury funds projects that benefit the Kusama network ecosystem. Teams can submit proposals for various initiatives, including development work, community events, educational content, and infrastructure improvements.
How does staking rate affect network security?
The staking rate represents the percentage of tokens actively securing the network through nomination and validation. While lower staking rates might theoretically reduce security, Kusama and Polkadot utilize sophisticated mechanisms to maintain security across varying staking conditions.