Glossary
aTokens
Interest-bearing tokens received when supplying assets to Kaskad. They represent your share of a liquidity pool and accrue interest automatically.
blockDAG
A Directed Acyclic Graph block structure used by Kaspa. Unlike traditional blockchains (single chain of blocks), a blockDAG allows multiple blocks to be created in parallel, enabling higher throughput without sacrificing security.
Bounded Governance
Kaskad's governance model where every adjustable parameter operates within a hard-coded range. Governance can tune settings but cannot breach safety floors or ceilings. See Bounded Governance.
BPS (Blocks Per Second)
The rate at which new blocks are produced. Kaspa currently runs at 10 BPS.
Challenge Window
A 24-hour period during the governance timelock during which community members can contest a proposal if it appears to violate protocol safety bounds.
Epoch
A time period of approximately one month used for incentive accounting. Activity is tracked throughout the epoch, and rewards are distributed at epoch closure.
GHOSTDAG
The consensus protocol used by Kaspa. A generalization of Nakamoto consensus designed for blockDAG structures, created by Yonatan Sompolinsky.
Health Factor (HF)
A numerical indicator of a borrowing position's safety. HF > 1 means the position is solvent; HF < 1 means it is eligible for liquidation.
Hyperlane
A permissionless interoperability layer that enables cross-chain messaging and asset transfers. Kaskad uses Hyperlane to support 100+ networks.
Igra
An EVM-compatible Layer 2 network anchored to the Kaspa L1 blockDAG. Kaskad's smart contracts run on Igra.
LTV (Loan-to-Value)
The ratio of borrowed value to collateral value. An LTV of 70% means you can borrow up to 70% of your collateral's value.
Liquidation
The process by which an under-collateralized position (HF < 1) is partially closed by an external actor (liquidator) who repays debt in exchange for discounted collateral.
Liquidation Penalty
A bonus paid to liquidators as compensation for executing liquidations. Deducted from the borrower's collateral.
Liquidation Threshold
The collateral ratio at which a position becomes eligible for liquidation. Always set higher than or equal to the LTV ratio.
MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets)
European Union regulation providing a legal framework for crypto assets. Kaskad's compliance framework is aligned with MiCA.
Milestone Incentives
Additional incentive distributions triggered when the protocol reaches predefined TVL thresholds ($1M, $3M, $5M, etc.).
Oracle
An external data source that provides price feeds to the protocol. Used for collateral valuation, health factor calculation, and liquidation triggers.
Partial Liquidation
Kaskad's liquidation model where only a portion of a borrower's debt is repaid during liquidation — enough to restore the Health Factor above 1.0, rather than closing the entire position.
PoW (Proof of Work)
A consensus mechanism where miners expend computational energy to produce blocks. Kaspa uses PoW with the GHOSTDAG protocol.
Snapshot
A record of voting power at a specific moment in time. Used in governance to lock voting power when a proposal is created, preventing flash-loan voting attacks.
Supply Adjustment Mechanism
A governance-directed mechanism to redirect undistributed emissions or treasury allocations for token supply calibration. Bounded at 5% of 30-day average activity.
Timelock
A mandatory delay (minimum 48 hours) between a governance proposal passing and its execution. Gives the community time to review and challenge changes.
TGE (Token Generation Event)
The event at which $KSKD tokens are created and initial distributions begin.
TWAL (Time-Weighted Average Liquidity)
A metric that measures TVL over time, preventing short-term TVL spikes from triggering milestone rewards.
TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price)
A metric that averages asset prices over time, preventing price manipulation from artificially inflating TVL milestones.
TVL (Total Value Locked)
The total dollar value of assets deposited in the protocol's liquidity pools.
Utilization Rate
The ratio of borrowed assets to total supplied assets in a lending pool. Higher utilization means more of the pool is being borrowed, which drives interest rates up.
Vesting
A schedule that locks tokens and releases them gradually over time. Prevents large holders from selling their entire allocation at once.