What is Kaspa?

Kaspa (KAS) is a relatively new cryptocurrency that utilizes a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. It aims to offer high transaction throughput and fast block times by implementing the GHOSTDAG (Greedy Heaviest-Observed Subtree Directed Acyclic Graph) protocol. Unlike traditional blockchains, which produce single blocks at a time, GHOSTDAG allows Kaspa to build multiple blocks simultaneously and order them efficiently, leading to faster confirmation times and more scalable network performance.

Kaspa utilizes the kHeavyHash algorithm, which is specifically designed to maintain ASIC resistance while still being suitable for GPU mining. Mining Kaspa can be done using GPUs or specialized ASIC miners like the Antminer KS5. With a block time of just one second, Kaspa achieves high transaction throughput, making it an energy-efficient alternative to other Proof-of-Work cryptocurrencies. As a relatively new project, Kaspa is still gaining traction, but its innovative approach to blockchain scalability is attracting growing interest in the crypto community.

Growth of the Network

The Kaspa network hashrate represents the collective computational power of all miners within the network. As depicted in the chart below, the number of miners contributing to the network began to gain momentum in December 2023, with a significant acceleration occurring in the summer of 2024. This surge aligns with the launch of the Antminer KS5 and KS5 Pro by Bitmain, a leading ASIC manufacturer. The introduction of more efficient ASIC miners typically leads to a delay before these machines are produced and deployed at scale, which explains the sharp increase in network hashrate observed a few months after the KS5’s release.

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The growth in the network hashrate reflects both the increasing adoption of Kaspa and the expansion of its mining community. As more miners join the network and deploy advanced hardware like the Antminer KS5, the collective computational power rises, underscoring the growing interest and participation in Kaspa mining.

Kaspa Difficulty

Kaspa difficulty, or network difficulty, is a crucial metric in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, determining how challenging it is for miners to solve the computational problem required to find a block. As more miners join the Kaspa network, the difficulty increases, making it harder to discover new blocks and earn rewards. Network difficulty is measured as a numerical value, reflecting how many times, on average, miners must compute a hash function to uncover a block. This value is expressed in units like K (thousand), M (million), G (billion), and T (trillion), representing the scale of difficulty. The difficulty level fluctuates based on the number of active miners; as the network hashrate rises due to more miners, the effective block find time decreases, prompting the network to increase the difficulty to maintain a consistent block discovery rate. Conversely, when the number of miners decreases and the hashrate drops, the network reduces the difficulty, making it easier to solve the problem and find a block. This interplay between network difficulty and hashrate is essential for regulating the average time it takes to mine a cryptocurrency block, ensuring the stability and security of the network.

Marathon Digital Holdings is Mining Kaspa

The second biggest publicly traded mining company Marathon Digital Holdings, announce that they are mining Kaspa. So should you consider it too?

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“By mining Kaspa, we are able to create a stream of revenue that is diversified from Bitcoin, and that is directly tied to our core competencies in digital asset compute,” said Adam Swick, Marathon’s chief growth officer in the statement.

Marathon began mining Kaspa in September of last year, bringing its first mining computer online. The company has acquired 60 petahash worth of mining machines, which, according to their statement, can achieve profit margins of up to 95%. Currently, Marathon has 30 petahash of mining rigs operational at its Texas sites, with the remaining machines expected to be online by the third quarter. To date, the company has mined 93 million KAS, valued at approximately $15 million.

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Bitmain Antminer KS5

The Antminer KS5 is a specialized ASIC miner designed to mine Kaspa. It’s manufactured by Bitmain, a leading company in the production of cryptocurrency mining hardware. The KS5 is specifically tuned to handle the kHeavyHash algorithm, making it one of the most efficient and powerful options for Kaspa mining.

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The KS5 series offers a high hashrate compared to older Antminer models and other manufactures. The KS5 boasts 20 TH/s while the pro edition goes up to 21 TH/s. The KS5 is designed to be energy-efficient, balancing high performance with relatively low power consumption compared to previous generation miners. The KS5 features a robust cooling system, often with dual-fan setups to ensure optimal performance and longevity.

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Profitability of Kaspa Mining

The profitability of mining Kaspa with the KS5 depends on factors like the current KAS price, network difficulty, and electricity costs and other expenses. EZ Blockchain offers an all-in hosting fee of $0.069 kWh which, in addition to electricity costs, includes a high quality service of housing and maintaining your KS5 miners.

The $0.069 kWh with the power usage of the KS5 at 3000W translates to an all-in hosting fee of $1,813.32 a year or $149.04 monthly. At the moment of writing this article that provides a monthly profit of $682.94 and an ROI of just XX Months which is faster than the ROI of Bitcoin ASIC Miners in current market conditions.

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Kaspa price has risen over 350% over the last year and 45% year-to-date. With the price increase slowing down and the growth rate of hashrate picking up, profitability of Kaspa mining did decline with 87%, but despite that decrease in profitability the margins on mining Kaspa are still higher than mining BTC.

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