Kusama has taken flight, soaring over 112% on Saturday, leaving investors and enthusiasts buzzing over what’s fueling this meteoric rise for Polkadot’s experimental sibling.

Kusama (KSM), often referred to as Polkadot’s (DOT) “canary network,” is living up to its moniker.

The coin’s rally signals a new wave of activity in the blockchain ecosystem. Designed for developers and startups to test ideas in a live environment, Kusama’s rise suggests a surge in experimentation and innovation.

Source: CoinGecko

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What is Kusama?

Kusama acts as a live testing ground where developers and teams can experiment with new ideas, features, and distributed applications (dApps) before deploying them on Polkadot, a top layer-1 network.

Earlier this month, crypto.news reported that analysts were bullish on Polkadot despite its weak fundamentals.

Now, observers note that selling Polkadot and Kusama at all-time lows was a mistake as these “solid projects” were ripe for a comeback.

See below.

To everyone who claimed $DOT and $KSM were dead, it’s time to rethink. Many followed the negativity and sold at all-time lows—only to watch these projects roar back to life.$KSM just soared 82% in one day, proving yet again that solid projects in the crypto space don’t die. pic.twitter.com/EHEkIzYME3

— 𝙺𝚊𝚣𝚞𝚢𝚊 𝙺𝚞𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚊 (@kazuya_kusama) November 23, 2024

The Polkadot connection

As Polkadot gears up for its next major developments, Kusama often serves as a precursor, making its movements a leading indicator of broader trends in the ecosystem.

Some speculate that the surge in Kusama’s value may be tied to anticipation around Polkadot’s future announcements, with KSM riding the coattails of its more stable counterpart.

Another factor could be renewed interest in web3 development as blockchain projects ramp up efforts to create scalable and interoperable solutions.

With Kusama’s experimental ethos, it has become a magnet for developers willing to push boundaries. This rise could be seen as investors doubling down on Kusama’s role as a hotbed of web3 innovation.

For example, SubQuery Network — a Web3 infrastructure provider — recently unveiled two new decentralized Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) for the Polkadot ecosystem. 

These RPCs mark the first decentralized RPCs on Substrate-based networks.

SubQuery, which supports nearly 200 networks, operates a globally distributed network of decentralized indexers and RPC providers. Dapps can efficiently and dependably retrieve blockchain data through this network, eliminating the need for centralized access points.

RPCs play a crucial role in the blockchain, serving as a communication bridge between external entities and nodes on the blockchain.

They help with data retrieval, smart contract execution, and transaction processing. With the introduction of SubQuery’s decentralized RPCs, these essential functions are now more accessible and secure for developers in the Polkadot and Kusama networks.  

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