TL;DR:

• Kaspa appears at the Oxford Union: Yonatan Sompolinsky spoke at the historic debating society, placing Kaspa alongside major scientific and technological voices while expanding the project’s academic visibility.

• Protocol roadmap advances toward the May covenant hard fork: Developers continue preparing the upgrade, introducing native assets and Covenants++, while discussions around BLAKE3 hashing and vProgs highlight progress toward Kaspa’s long-term programmability architecture.

• Developer infrastructure expands across the ecosystem: New public APIs from KaspaCom, improvements to Rust tooling for embedded compatibility, and ongoing work across TN12 testnet components signal continued maturation of developer resources.

• Igra ecosystem prepares first mainnet token distribution: Igra mainnet surpassed 1 million blocks as ZealousSwap opened the final ZAP test auction ahead of the planned March 26 $IGRA auction and initial protocol launch.

• Ecosystem visibility and tooling continue to grow: Hardware wallet integration with Keystone progresses, research and analysis projects examine Proof-of-Work network design, and new community resources, including Kaspa Hub updates and educational materials, expand the ecosystem’s reach.

Kaspa Represented at the Oxford Union:

Yonatan Sompolinsky spoke at the Oxford Union on March 12, continuing the society’s long tradition of hosting figures who have shaped science, technology, and public policy. Sompolinsky appeared in the Union’s main chamber as part of that day’s speaker program, which also included a talk by Peter Oppenheimer, the former CFO of Apple.

The appearance forms part of a broader initiative by the Kaspa Ecosystem Foundation to expand Kaspa’s academic engagement, including collaboration with university communities and potential builder-focused programs around Oxford. The Oxford Union, founded in 1823, has historically hosted prominent figures across politics, economics, and science and has previously held debates on emerging technologies, including early discussions of Bitcoin.

A recording of the talk is expected to be published on the Oxford Union’s YouTube channel. Kasmedia will share an update once the video and transcript become available.

Kaspa Hard Fork Countdown Continues Toward May Target

Core contributors are working toward a covenant-focused hard fork introducing native assets to Kaspa, with a current target window around May 5, 2026. A community-run countdown on kas.live tracks the expected timeline, though final activation remains dependent on development readiness and network coordination.

Kaspa core developer Michael Sutton previously noted that May 5 is the intended goal, stating simply: “That’s the aim.”

The upgrade is expected to expand Kaspa’s Layer-1 functionality by enabling native token issuance, programmable spending conditions through Covenants++, and initial support for zero-knowledge verification. The changes maintain the network’s existing proof-of-work consensus and node requirements while laying groundwork for future features such as vProgs and the planned DagKnight consensus upgrade.

Kaspa Development Moves Toward BLAKE3 Hashing for ZK Proof Infrastructure

Michael Sutton, Kaspa core developer, noted that the project is transitioning certain hashing components used in Layer-1 proof verification toward the BLAKE3 algorithm as part of ongoing work related to zero-knowledge proof integration.

Sutton wrote: “We’re switching all L1 prover required hashes to BLAKE3 (it’s a very long ongoing subject).”

Community member Luke Dunshea clarified that the change does not affect the network’s mining algorithm, which remains kHeavyHash. Luke explained:

“Nothing changes with mining Kaspa — you still need ASICs for this.”

Dunshea explained that zero-knowledge proof generation would operate alongside the existing mining process rather than replace it.

He added that, “ZK proving is not mining… mining is probabilistic… ZK proving is deterministic.”

Dunshea illustrated the concept of zero-knowledge verification with a simple analogy, explaining that the system can confirm a condition is met without revealing the underlying data.

“It’s like going into a club, but instead of handing the bouncer your ID, you just show them a verified green stamp that says ‘over 18’.”

During the discussion, community member JC added a technical clarification, noting that GPUs are typically used to generate zero-knowledge proofs, while verification remains lightweight and can be performed directly by network nodes.

Sutton later added context to temper some community interpretations, explaining that the hashing change primarily relates to the interface between Layer-1 commitments and zk proving systems. In this model, block headers publish compact commitment data describing which transactions were accepted by the DAG and in what order. Zk provers can later reconstruct the relevant information using witnesses and public inputs when generating proofs.

He wrote that “Blake3 is not some unique Kaspa edge by itself. It is just one pragmatic point in the design space.”

The design choice reflects the need for a hash function that performs efficiently both for node execution and for ZK proof systems. Sutton emphasized that the change should be viewed as a systems-engineering decision supporting future ZK infrastructure rather than a standalone technical breakthrough.

It’s important to note that the BLAKE3 hashing algorithm can still be used for future optical proof-of-work ASIC miners if Kaspa decides to go that route, achieving CapEx dominance rather than OpEx dominance. Reducing opex dominance reduces proof-of-work’s environmental impact and provides better network security. This is because an OpEx-heavy paradigm equates to miners burning the security budget simply by using it. Moreover, only countries with lower OpEx costs, such as electricity costs, can support proof-of-work infrastructure, severely increasing the barrier to entry.

Recon, Rearcher, on vProgs

Kaspa ecosystem researcher Recon published a thread clarifying the architectural design behind vProgs, the programmability model under development for Kaspa. The post addresses common confusion around how the system differs from conventional smart contract platforms.

Recon contrasted the typical approach used by networks such as Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano, where contract code executes directly on-chain, and every node must process the computation. This model can create shared execution bottlenecks as networks scale.

By contrast, Kaspa’s proposed vProgs model separates execution from verification. Computation occurs off-chain, while the blockchain verifies cryptographic proofs of the result.

Recon emphasized that because verification happens directly on the base layer, the system avoids the additional trust assumptions commonly associated with Layer-2 bridges.

He summarized the model as “Code executes off-chain. [The] chain only VERIFIES proofs.”

The thread also noted that the architecture remains under active development and should not be interpreted as an imminent rollout of traditional smart-contract functionality.

“Not Ethereum-style global execution… Not an L2 that can be rugged… Not shipping tomorrow.”

Recon outlined several components currently being developed as part of the technical stack, including covenants that enable conditional spending rules in UTXOs, zero-knowledge verification opcodes for Groth16 and RISC0 proofs (two commonly used zk proof systems), and Kaspa’s SilverScript compiler used to express covenant logic. These components are designed to support a model of off-chain computation with on-chain verification.

According to the post, the current testnet environment (TN12) already includes several of these features, alongside recent infrastructure improvements such as Rusty Kaspa v1.1.0. The next major milestone referenced in the thread is the Covenant hard fork scheduled for May 5, 2026, which is expected to expand Kaspa’s scripting capabilities as research and implementation around vProgs continue.

Kaspa Address Library Moving Toward Embedded Compatibility

Kaspa developer IzioDev shared that the kaspa-addresses Rust library is being updated to support no_std, a Rust configuration that removes dependencies on the standard library, enabling code to run in constrained environments such as firmware and embedded systems.

Explaining the concept, IzioDev wrote:

“A ‘no_std’ Rust crate (library) is a crate that supports being used on any platform (because it doesn't make assumptions about it). In short, it allows the crate to be used in firmwares.”

The change would allow software running on embedded devices to generate and manage Kaspa addresses without requiring a full operating system or standard runtime environment.

In a follow-up post, IzioDev noted that expanding no_std compatibility across additional low-level components could allow Kaspa primitives to be used directly inside firmware.

“More generally, if many low-level crates are no_std, it means I can use Kaspa primitives in my firmware, which unlock some great possibilities, natively.”

Such compatibility can be useful for hardware-focused applications, including hardware wallets, secure elements, IoT devices, or specialized mining hardware. The work reflects ongoing efforts to make Kaspa’s Rust tooling portable across a wider range of computing environments.

KaspaCom Releases Public APIs for Native Asset Data

KaspaCom announced the release of a public API suite that provides developers with access to data for Kaspa-native assets, including KRC20 tokens, KRC721 NFTs, and Kaspa Name Service (KNS) domains.

The APIs allow developers to query market data, trading activity, floor prices, recent mints, and historical metrics across tokens and NFT collections on the Kaspa network. Additional endpoints provide marketplace statistics, open order data, and domain trading information.

The endpoints are publicly accessible and intended to support developers building dashboards, marketplaces, analytics tools, and other applications within the Kaspa ecosystem.

Ecosystem Third-Party Protcol and Community Project Updates

ZealousSwap opens final ZAP test auction ahead of Igra mainnet launch

ZealousSwap announced that the final public test auction for its Zealous Auctions Protocol (ZAP) is now live, giving users a last opportunity to experiment with the mechanism before the IGRA mainnet auction scheduled for March 26, 2026.

ZAP is a timed on-chain auction in which tokens are released gradually, and bids are cleared at a single, uniform price determined by market demand. Participants specify the maximum price they are willing to pay, with funds held in a smart contract until the auction concludes.

According to the project materials, the mechanism is intended to reduce common launch issues, such as front-running and supply sweeps, by ensuring that all participants pay the same clearing price regardless of order size. As the team described it, “the person bidding 10 iKAS and the person bidding 1,000,000 iKAS get the same price per token.”

The test auction includes an increased faucet limit of 3,000 iKAS to allow users to experiment with the system ahead of the planned mainnet auction.

Ahead of the auction, the Igra team also hosted a community AMA on X Spaces with Ashton Simmonds and Pavel Emdin to discuss the ZAP mechanism and answer questions about the upcoming IGRA distribution.

Keystone Hardware Wallet Kaspa Integration Advances

Keystone Wallet shared an update on its integration with Kaspa, reporting that several core development components have been completed, including address generation, public key export functionality, and transaction parsing design.

The team also indicated that it is collaborating with Kaspium Wallet to support the PSKT protocol, enabling hardware-secured signing workflows for Kaspa transactions.

Keystone wrote:

“The long-awaited transaction parsing feature has been set as one of our key milestones. With Keystone’s 4-inch screen, blind signing becomes a thing of the past!”

Transaction parsing allows a hardware wallet to display human-readable transaction details before signing, helping users verify exactly what they are authorizing rather than approving opaque data.

Keystone hardware wallets operate in an air-gapped model, storing private keys offline and signing transactions using QR codes rather than a direct network connection. Once integration is complete, Kaspa users will be able to manage funds through hardware-secured self-custody workflows.

PoW Protocol University Launches Comparative Research Hub

A new educational resource, PoW Protocol University, has launched an interactive platform designed to compare major Proof-of-Work networks across a structured set of evaluation criteria. The project was created by Kaspa community member Odie.

The site analyzes a range of Proof-of-Work networks, including Bitcoin, Kaspa, Monero, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum Classic, Zcash, Ravencoin, Ergo, Decred, Dash, and Bitcoin Cash. Each network is evaluated across a structured set of analytical pillars, including security budget, monetary policy, consensus mechanism, decentralization, transaction finality, node requirements, and partition tolerance.

Selecting a protocol opens a dedicated page that summarizes its design and links to deeper documentation across each pillar. For example, the page for Kaspa describes the network as a Proof-of-Work BlockDAG protocol using GHOSTDAG consensus, designed to process roughly 10 blocks per second while avoiding orphaned block waste. The profile highlights Kaspa’s chromatic halving emission schedule, fast confirmation times of roughly 10 seconds for 10 confirmations, and a pruned node footprint of approximately 30–50 GB. It also outlines architectural characteristics such as kHeavyHash mining, partition-tolerant BlockDAG merging, and throughput targets in the thousands of transactions per second.

The site also includes a section explaining the principles behind Proof-of-Work, framing PoW security as rooted in thermodynamic cost, objective verification from genesis, and permissionless participation through hardware-based mining.

Ashton discusses Kaspa ecosystem developments in the BSCNews Interview

Ashton appeared in a recent interview discussing the evolution of the Kaspa ecosystem and several projects being built within it. The conversation covered Ashton’s journey into the Kaspa community, perspectives on the network’s current state, and developments expected across the ecosystem in 2026.

Topics included the role of the Igra Network, the purpose of the $IGRA token, the goals of the Moonbound initiative, and other Kaspa-based applications currently in development.

The interview was shared by BSCNews on X, where the outlet’s account reaches more than 1.3 million followers, expanding visibility for Kaspa ecosystem developments to a broader audience.

CoinAthlete Publishes Latest Kaspa R&D Summary

Kaspa ecosystem contributor CoinAthlete shared the latest entry in the new R&D section on Kaspa.News, publishing a curated breakdown of recent development discussions and ecosystem activity.

The report highlights several technical updates, including the transition to BLAKE3 hashing for Layer-1 proof verification, the release of Rusty Kaspa v1.1.0 with synchronization and integration improvements, and ongoing work on covenants, zero-knowledge proofs, and Kaspa’s evolving programmability architecture.

Additional sections summarize ecosystem developments, including the planned $IGRA token distribution for the Igra Network, stablecoin activity on Kasplex, and new tooling for SilverScript covenant development.

The R&D reports compile discussions from developer channels into structured updates tracking what builders across the Kaspa ecosystem are actively working on.

Kaspa Hub Releases v2.4 Update

Kaspa Hub announced the release of version 2.4, introducing faster loading via CDN-linked static assets, a redesigned sidebar, and a new progressive web app (PWA) for accessing news and articles.

The update also includes an alpha version of a block explorer, which currently supports wallet lookups.

Kaspa Hub is a community-built directory and information portal that aggregates resources across the Kaspa ecosystem, including developer tools, wallets, exchanges, educational materials, and ecosystem projects.

Community Member Publishes Introductory Kaspa Book

Kaspa community member Jackmaster announced the release of a new book introducing the Kaspa ecosystem. The book is available on Amazon and is written in English with the goal of helping explain Kaspa to a broader global audience.

According to the announcement, the publication is intended primarily as an educational and awareness effort rather than a commercial project, with the book priced at 2.99 USD.