Majella add networks comparison

docs/learn-kusama-vs-polkadot.md

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+---
+id: learn-kusama-vs-polkadot
+title: What is the difference between Polkadot and Kusama?
+sidebar_label: Comparing Polkadot and Kusama
+---
+
+Although they share many parts of their code, Polkadot and Kusama are independent, standalone
+networks with different priorities.
+
+Kusama is wild and fast; great for bold experimentation and early-stage deployment. Polkadot is more
+conservative, prioritizing stability and dependability.
+
+## What the two networks have in common
+
+Kusama was released as an early version of the same code to be used in Polkadot, which means they
+share the same underlying architecture: a multichain, heterogeneously-sharded design based on
+Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS). Both networks also share key innovations like on-chain governance,
+hot-swappable runtimes for forkless, on-chain upgrades, and Cross-Chain Message Passing (XCMP) for
+interoperability. Governance on both Polkadot and Kusama is designed to be decentralized and
+permissionless, giving a say in how the network is run to everyone who owns the native token (DOT
+for Polkadot, KSM for Kusama). Therefore, **over time the networks will evolve independently,
+converging or diverging according to the decisions of their respective communities.**
+
+## Key differences
+
+There are a few important distinctions to be made.
+
+![polkadot_vs_kusama](assets/Cousins_2.png)
+
+### Speed
+
+The first key technical difference between Polkadot and Kusama is that Kusama has modified
+governance parameters that allow for faster upgrades. Kusama is up to four times faster than
+Polkadot, with seven days for token holders to vote on referendums followed by an enactment period
+of eight days, after which the referendum will be enacted on the chain. This means stakeholders need
+to stay active and vigilant if they want to keep up with all the proposals, referenda , and
+upgrades, and validators on Kusama often need to update at short notice. On Polkadot, votes last 28
+days followed by an enactment period of 28 days. This does not mean that the Kusama blockchain
+itself is faster, in the sense of faster block times or transaction throughput (these are the same
+on both networks), but that there's a shorter amount of time between governance events such as
+proposing new referenda, voting, and enacting approved upgrades. This allows Kusama to adapt and
+evolve faster than Polkadot.
+
+### Lean setups
+
+Teams wishing to run a parachain need to bond tokens as security. The bonding requirement on Kusama
+is likely to be lower than on Polkadot. Kusama validators can also benefit from the
+[1000 Validators Program](https://polkadot.network/join-kusamas-thousand-validators-programme/),
+which helps them kickstart their Kusama nodes with nominations from Web3 Foundation and Parity
+Technologies. For those who want to validate on Kusama _and_ Polkadot, the same setup and
+infrastructure can be used for both networks.
+
+### Use cases
+
+Polkadot is and always will be the primary network for the deployment of enterprise-level
+applications and those that entail high-value transactions requiring bank-level security and
+stability. The initial use case for Kusama is as a pre-production environment, a “canary network”.
+Building on Kusama first allows teams to test things out in a live, fully decentralized and
+community-controlled network with real-world conditions and lower stakes in the event of problems or
+bugs than on Polkadot. Many projects will maintain parachains on both networks, experimenting and
+testing new technologies and features on Kusama before deploying them to Polkadot. Some teams will
+decide just to stay on Kusama, which is likely to be a place where we see some exciting
+experimentation with new technologies going forward. Projects that require high-throughput but don’t
+necessarily require bank-like security, such as some gaming, social networking, and content
+distribution applications, are particularly good candidates for this use case. Kusama may also prove
+to be the perfect environment for ambitious experiments with new ideas and new innovations in areas
+like governance, incentives, monetary policy, and DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations).
+Future upgrades to the Polkadot runtime will also likely be deployed to Kusama before Polkadot
+mainnet. This way, not only will we be able to see how these new technologies and features will
+perform under real-world conditions before bringing them to Polkadot, but teams who have deployed to
+both networks will also get an advance look at how their own technology will perform under those
+upgrades.
+
+## Going forward
+
+Ultimately, Kusama and Polkadot will live on as independent, standalone networks with their own
+communities, their own governance, and their own complementary use cases, though they will continue
+to maintain a close relationship, with many teams likely deploying applications to both networks. In
+the future, we’re also likely to see Kusama bridged to Polkadot for cross-network interoperability.
+Web3 Foundation remains committed to both networks going forward, providing crucial support and
+guidance to teams building for the ecosystem.
+
+## Explore more
+
+- [About Kusama](https://kusama.network)
+- [The Kusama Wiki](https://guide.kusama.network)
+- [Kusama on Polkadot-JS Apps](https://kusama.dotapps.io)

website/sidebars.json

@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@
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         "label": "Polkadot Comparisons",
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           "learn-comparisons-dfinity",