# Kusama

> Unleash Chaos

Kusama is a permission-less blockchain network that acts as Polkadot’s canary network, letting teams deploy and test cutting-edge upgrades in a live, value-bearing environment.

Kusama is an independent, public blockchain that shares much of Polkadot’s codebase and design while purposefully lowering the barriers for rapid experimentation. Developers use it to trial new features, parachains, and governance mechanisms under real economic conditions before, or instead of, deployment to Polkadot. The network remains fully sovereign, community-governed, and open to anyone who is willing to "expect chaos."

- Type: Network
- Sector: Blockchain Platforms
- Status: Active
- Founded: 2019-08-01
- Profile: https://thegrid.id/profiles/kusama_network

## Products

- [Kusama Relay Chain](https://thegrid.id/profiles/kusama_network): Kusama Relay Chain is a public Layer-1 blockchain providing shared security and interoperability for parachains and applications built for rapid innovation. (L1, Live, Main Product)

## Assets

- [Kusama (KSM)](https://thegrid.id/profiles/kusama_network): KSM is the native token of the Kusama network. It is used for transaction fees, staking, governance, purchase of coretime, and enabling key functionalities on Kusama. The network is built using a nominated proof-of-stake consensus mechanism that uses nominators who elect nodes to participate in the transaction validation process, allowing rapid on-chain upgrades without a fork and cross-chain message passing to enable communication with other parachains. (Native)

## Links

- [Main](https://kusama.network)
- [Forum](https://forum.polkadot.network/tag/kusama)
- [Documentation](https://docs.polkadot.com)
- [Twitter / X](https://x.com/kusamanetwork)
- [GitHub](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk)

## Legal

This data is provided under two licensing models.

Model 1 - open data. The open data core is licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL) — a copyleft/share-alike license allowing free use, modification, and sharing for any purpose. Attribution is required: include "Powered by The Grid" linking to https://thegrid.id wherever the data is used. Derivative databases must be shared under ODbL terms. Trademarks, logos, and brand names (marked "Special TPIP") are not covered by the ODbL. For ML/AI use: training datasets that substantially extract ODbL data are Derivative Databases and must be shared under ODbL if publicly used; models must be attributed in documentation.

Model 2 - commercial licenses. The Grid Data Service (TGDS) is also available as a commercial license. See [Web Services Terms](https://about.thegrid.id/legal/web-services-terms) for commercial use that is not covered by the open data service.

The following applies to both licensing models.
- All data is provided AS IS with no guarantees of accuracy.
- The Grid does not provide investment, legal, or tax advice, and
- a project's presence in The Grid's data does not imply endorsement.


- [Data Licensing & Disclaimers](https://about.thegrid.id/legal/data-licensing-and-disclaimers): Licensing models and disclaimers
- [Open Data (ODbL)](https://about.thegrid.id/legal/open-data): Open Database License terms and scope for The Grid's open data service.
- [Attribution Guidelines](https://about.thegrid.id/legal/open-data-attribution-guidelines): How to attribute The Grid's data when using the open data service.
- [Web Services Terms](https://about.thegrid.id/legal/web-services-terms): commercial Terms for using data services.
- [All Legal Documents](https://about.thegrid.id/legal): Full index of terms, policies, and disclosures

## Optional

- [TGS Field Descriptions](https://github.com/The-Grid-Data/workspace-public/blob/main/references/tgs-field-descriptions.md): Schema field definitions for The Grid's data model
- [TGS JSON Structure](https://github.com/The-Grid-Data/workspace-public/blob/main/references/tgs-json-structure.md): Data model structure and relationships
- [Product Type Definitions](https://github.com/The-Grid-Data/workspace-public/blob/main/references/product-type-definitions.md): Definitions for each product type
- [Product Type Classification](https://github.com/The-Grid-Data/workspace-public/blob/main/references/product-type-classification.md): Guide for classifying products into types
- [Grid MCP Guide](https://github.com/The-Grid-Data/workspace-public/blob/main/grid-search/skills/grid-query/references/grid-mcp-guide.md): How to query The Grid programmatically via MCP