As the Kaspa ecosystem matures and expands, so do the applications associated with it. One such application was born from self-proclaimed "Kaspa moon boy" Sione Milhem and seasoned Kaspa entrepreneur Christian Ludwig. Together with a team of experienced developers, they created one of the most popular Kaspa platforms, KaspaCom, formerly known as Kaspiano. KaspaCom hosts an entire ecosystem based around KRC20 tokens, where users can utilize features associated with a DEX, DEX screener, marketplace, launchpad, and more. 

The idea for KaspaCom came about after it was announced that KRC20 tokens were coming to the Kaspa network. With development experience, Sione knew there was a need in the Kaspa community that he was capable of filling. Sione officially decided to work on the application two weeks before the original Kasplex beta launch. The delays associated with the beta launch provided the developers additional time to refine and enhance the application and create one of the cleanest marketplaces around. 

One of the platform's standout features is its sleek user interface, which seamlessly combines all of the features of a DEX screener, marketplace, portfolio, airdrop hub, and launchpad. Users can find the top-traded KRC20 tokens and sort them by age, market cap, daily trading volume, percent-minted, number of holders, and if the project was fair-launched. Additionally, market participants can easily deploy their own KRC20 project in just a few minutes, with no coding skills required. Another innovative feature new to the Kaspa ecosystem is the KaspaCom Launchpad, a concept similar to the launchpads found on larger centralized exchanges, allowing users to discover new tokens before they are eligible to list on the marketplace. 

The core KaspaCom team is fully doxxed, bringing years of expertise in cryptocurrency, software development, and the successful launch of tech companies. They know the importance of having a streamlined user experience paired with powerful features to deliver exceptional value to users. Although the platform is relatively new, they are already actively updating the code to introduce innovative features. For example, they recently launched PSKTs (Partial Sign Kaspa Transactions), enabling user-to-user trades through atomic swaps. This ensures that trades are only completed if specific conditions are met, further enhancing both security and efficiency. 

Below, you will find our interview with KaspaCom co-founder Sione Melhem, in which he shares his insights on the company's founding, the innovative features driving the platform, and the vision behind its growth. Sione also offers a deeper look into the technologies shaping KaspaCom's future and its role in revolutionizing the decentralized finance space.

To read our interview with Christian Ludwig, please see our interview Kaspa Mining Series: Interview with Christian Ludwig.

The Beginning

What inspired you to create KaspaCom (previously known as Kaspiano), and what was your vision for the application when you began?

I'm a Kaspa moon boy fanatic; I started my journey in crypto properly with the last bull run in the NFT mania and stayed for the bear market. I went into the Ethereum Rabbit hole, then encountered the question, "What is money," and went through the Bitcoin rabbit hole; while learning, I met two guys at a conference in Israel who mentioned Kaspa and said they were laptop mining it. It took me some time until I bought a bit of Kaspa in September 2022. While learning about BTC, I fell in love with Kaspa since I better understood the vision and ideas. When Kasplex said they would release token protocols, I saw an opportunity to do something for Kaspa's ecosystem. I'm an entrepreneur and always looking for new opportunities; thus, I saw how it was possible to start building on Kaspa. From there, I pushed Kaspiano (KaspaCom) and built a team full of normies who also happened to be great developers. 

How did you come up with the name “Kaspiano,” and does it hold any special meaning for anyone on the team? Moreover, why did you change the name to KaspaCom? 

Actually, it started as a joke. My team member, a non-crypto user, just said Kaspiano as a joke, an Italian name for Kaspa. Since I knew the block rewards aligned with the Harmonic Sequence, a well-known musical relation, so I chose Kaspiano; the name also felt "smooth." But now we are KaspaCom, which is short for Kaspa Comics, since we obtained the kaspa.com domain name.

How did the team come together for this project? Were you collaborating on anything else before KaspaCom?

Most of the core team members used to work with me. I decided to reach out to people who liked Kaspa because of my ongoing rants about how Kaspa is fantastic, game-changing tech. My little brother, who is the CM/Business Dev/Socials, is experienced in crypto as well, and we've done some other projects that he did in the same position.

What was the development journey like? How long did it take to bring KaspaCom to life?

We started developing it one to two weeks before the first KRC20 launch, which failed. This gave us plenty of time to prepare for the second launch, so it took approximately three and a half months to bring it to life.

Why was having a doxxed team important for you? Do you think this has helped build trust in the eyes of the community?

We launched our app and trading features a week after KDX was rugged up, so the ecosystem was a bit shocked. There are a lot of newbies in Kaspa, so they haven't experienced Solana and Ethereum rugs. We needed to gain as much trust from the community and users of the platform. It helped for sure, but what helped the most is the good platform we have, the fast support we give users if anything happens, the transparency we have with them, and the Live Spaces I talk at.

Sione brings a wealth of full-stack development expertise. How did this help shape the functionality of the KaspaCom app?

I brought enthusiasm and vision to the product, driving the team forward and helping everyone understand the value of what we were building. While I have the expertise to manage end-to-end product development, I couldn't do everything alone. My core team consists of senior developers, and everyone made significant contributions. However, I couldn't have accomplished this without Gilad, especially in the early stages. He was the only one working full-time and as dedicated to the product as I was.

The current design was created on the fly, as I don't specialize in design. The new platform reflects the efforts of the other developers while I have transitioned into more of a CEO role.

I have multiple start-up experiences, even if they were not successful, and I understand the industry, so it helped a lot to drive the team.

How has Christian’s crypto and business-building experience shaped the application and strategic direction?

Christian is an entrepreneur with an outstanding track record. He has a clear vision and recognizes Kaspa's potential, making him an ideal partner, investor, and advisor. His reputation brings credibility to the project, as he is well-known within the ecosystem.

Beyond his investment, Christian contributes significantly to KaspaCom by leveraging his expertise in PR and marketing. He is fully committed, pouring his heart and soul into the project, the vision, and KaspaCom's growth potential within the ecosystem. I couldn't ask for a better collaborator.

Can you explain the story behind purchasing the kaspa.com web domain? Was it difficult to acquire?

This was a Christian connection, and magic was in the works. We closed a private equity deal since the owners kept the domain until they found a good cause and use case for it that would help Kaspa grow.

The Application

How did you decide on the fee structure, and what considerations went into keeping the trading fees low at 2.5%?

We consider it 2% since 0.5% or even more goes to communities and referral programs. We decided on this number because, at the start, we had crazy logic and a P2P server with lots of work, and KSPR had 5%, so we wanted it to be lower. This fee will probably diminish with time to close to 0.5%.

How were you able to process transactions with a near-zero gas fee of .00003 KAS?

That is the beauty of Kaspa: since it is so cheap, even if we had to do five different transactions to make 1 trade, it still costs nothing and takes no more than 10 to 12 seconds. Now, with PSKT, we are talking of one-second transactions.

KaspaCom processes transactions with a near-zero gas fee of 0.00003 KAS. What makes this possible?

The Kaspa network, of course, and Kasware’s Chrome extension for web applications.

With operational costs to consider, how are you able to sustain the app while maintaining such low fees?

It has other revenue streams, like Airdrop Tool, Launchpad, and Listing and trading fees.

Why did you feel it was important to reward users via 20% referral rewards?

We want to help communities have a sustainable business model or at least pay their bills. Also, to gain more users at the start and for them to spread the word, nothing is better than incentives.

How were you able to remove custodial risk with your wallet-to-wallet trading?

At the start, we had our P2P trading, where we held users' tokens in a temporary wallet that was used only once for that trade. We built it super secure by validating users on the blockchain and taking many security measures on the servers, platform, and services.

The user experience on the application is wonderful, which is impressive, considering there is so much information on each project page. How did you determine what information was important to share with the users?

I got lots of inspiration from DexScreener and other similar platforms. We provide relevant data that we think will help the user make a good investing decision, and I also got it from my own trading experience. 

How did you achieve such a nice project in terms of user experience?

Gilad is a professional and has a lot of attention to small details.

The “rug score” is a standout feature. How did this come about?

I learned it from a feature in Solana screeners that I used to use myself. It needs improvement, but we use token metrics and the user's digital footprint to provide the user with the rug score.

How do you maintain high security to prevent your community from being subject to scammers and impersonators?

We warn and let them know to join only through original links from Telegram or X. We keep the community in the loop of what's happening so they're not surprised by messages.

What can you tell us about user airdrops?

We have an airdrop feature for users, and we collaborate with communities and projects to airdrop our traders' coins as well. We are planning to airdrop our users in the future with our own token.

Collaborations

Have you had the opportunity to collaborate directly with any KRC20 projects, and how has that influenced KaspaCom?

KaspaCom’s growth is based on KRC20 projects. Everything we do and our partnerships are with them, and they are all organic partnerships. It’s slow but steady growth. I think we will collaborate at the start with a lot of them, but we are always helping them and giving advice.

What kinds of feedback have you received about the application from KRC20 projects?

Everyone wants mobile support and additional tools and features such as a Snapshot tool, an airdrop tool, and a label wallet address.

How can community members get involved with the project? Are there any opportunities looking for ambassadors?

We are still deciding the best approach for community involvement, we hope when the community grows they will be able to help and decide on new features.

Have you noticed any trends in trading activity, such as significant spikes after reaching a certain milestone?

Memes go up; volume goes up.

No one cares about the fees; some will still trade for 5%.

No one cares if the trade is on Kaspa.

Everything is incentives and community.

Launchpad

What motivated you to create a Launchpad within KaspaCom?

In the current market, fair mints cost one KAS, which is just a waste of users' funds and leaves creators with nothing; in any ecosystem (such as Ethereum and Solana), fair mint means it's a fair price for all or completely free, but creators get funding from the sales to help them build. Currently, the KRC20 ecosystem, which I think is full of newbies and inexperienced traders, complains that it is not fair mint. Users ask why teams are making money from it; it's standard for a creator to raise funds for his project; if not, he begs the community for donations. This needs to change, and we hope the launchpad pushes this forward.

What requirements must projects meet to launch via the Launchpad?

It’s permissionless, but we are building tools to make it less possible to rug.

For those unfamiliar with the process, can you please explain how to launch a KRC20 project on the KaspaCom Launchpad?

Yes, you need to permit your token. Go to the launchpad. There, you will find a guide on how to create and manage a platform.

You need to choose how much KAS you require per Batch of tokens. You can also choose a minimum and a maximum number of batches per order, set a whitelist, set a maximum amount per wallet, and even implement multiple rounds with different pricing. 

The Launchpad has wallet limits designed to prevent monopolization and rug-pulls. How was this value determined?

The creator decides. As mentioned, the platform is permissionless; we don't endorse any project.

How can projects use KaspaCom to build thriving communities post-launch?

We can devise trading competitions, have them join us in testing the new features in development, and do an AMA together.

Upcoming

The PSKT (Partial Sign Kaspa Transaction) sounds like a game-changer. What is it, and how does it enhance trading?

PSKT is a proof-of-work trading mechanism that allows users to list their tokens and approve them for sale without requiring a third party, making it trustless. It enhances trading because it becomes secure. There are no third parties involved. Everything happens in one transaction, so it takes one second to complete, which is a swift trade.

Can you please share more about the KRC-20 Atomic Swaps? Why is this an important feature for your users?

Atomic swaps make the trade of PSKT possible in one transaction. PSKT is a partial signature, meaning I sign half a transaction and keep the tokens in my wallet until something completes the transaction. The atomic swap enables users to request an amount of Kaspa for their tokens and swap them in one transaction if conditions are met.

Besides KASmedia, what other resources or media channels do you rely on to stay ahead in the Kaspa ecosystem?

Twitter and sometimes the Kaspa research website.