Kadena is a layer-1 blockchain, running on the Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism, which focuses on achieving maximum security and decentralization without sacrificing scalability.

In practice, Kadena appears to achieve scalability maximization by using a unique modular architecture called Chainweb. This is an innovative system that allows multiple block chains to run in parallel and process transactions independently. Therefore, the total network capacity can be increased by adding more chains.

Accordingly, Kadena appears to be able to handle unlimited transaction volumes without sacrificing security and decentralization.

The key technology behind Kadena is the parallel chain architecture, which significantly increases the speed of transactions and at high scale, as the network can process transactions simultaneously across multiple chains, which ensures that the possibility of high congestion can also be completely cancelled out.

Proof-of-work mechanism with a modified algorithm

In addition, each chain in the Kadena network is secured by the consensus mechanism, PoW, similar to that of Bitcoin.

However, Kadena uses a modified algorithm designed to be energy efficient and secure. A popular criticism of the traditional consensus mechanism, PoW, is the amount of energy used in the mining process.

However, Kadena does not increase energy consumption as it scales as the number of fragments increases and therefore energy consumption remains relatively constant.

It has forked in 20 chains

Kadena has already forked into 20 chains, maintaining the original ten and doubling its overall efficiency. With this strategy, Chainweb can be adapted to handle potentially hundreds of thousands of parallel chains.

Kadena also ensures decentralization by using its modular architecture to scale horizontally and achieve high transactional performance even as the network grows.

Overall, Kadena offers a combination of security, decentralization, speed and scalability to make it an attractive option for organizations looking to implement blockchain technology.

Smart Contracts

Kadena is designed to offer significantly enhanced security for smart contracts. One way in which it achieves this is by using an officially verified programming language, called “Pact”, which is specifically designed for use in the context of blockchain development.

Pact has inherently built-in features and security measures that ensure the security and correctness of its smart contracts.

These include:

Formal verification: The Kadena team has worked with leading researchers in the field of formal verification to develop tools that can mathematically prove the correctness of the Covenant code.

Formula security: Pact is a bold type language, meaning that its variables have a specific type (e.g. integer, string, etc.) and can only contain values of that type. This helps avoid errors and vulnerabilities associated with the type.

Formal specifications: Kadena requires all smart contracts to include a formal specification, which is a precise, mathematical description of the behavior of the contract. This helps ensure that the contract does exactly what it is supposed to do and nothing else.

Safety checks: Kadena conducts regular security audits of its smart contracts to identify and fix any vulnerabilities. Overall, the combination of these measures helps make Kadena’s smart contracts more secure.

Transaction Fees: Kadena’s blockchain is designed to yield very low-cost transactions. Given that everything on the network revolves around the Chainweb, it’s no surprise that Kadena’s low fees are a result of using sharing to process transactions simultaneously. Kadena’s architecture, as described above, helps reduce overall usage costs by minimizing the time required to confirm transactions. Among other factors, such as the obvious PoW consensus algorithm, flexible fee structure and the “Compact” programming language, which minimize network fees, make Kadena one of the blockchains with the lowest transaction costs.

The KDA currency

Kadena uses its native currency, KDA, which facilitates payments within the ecosystem. In addition, it has implemented a number of measures to prevent inflation, including a fixed total supply of one billion KDA coins. It also includes a mechanism for withdrawal and burning of coins to reduce the total supply of KDA.

The current capitalization of the KDA is about $200 million, a performance achieved a few days ago celebrated by the Kadena team.