The long-awaited Polkadot parachain slot auction is finally on the horizon. With Proposal 39 approved, Polkadot is set to launch its first auction on November 11, 2025 — a milestone event that marks a new era for the ecosystem. As anticipation builds, insights from Kusama’s two successful auction rounds offer valuable clues about what’s to come. The competition for Polkadot slots is expected to be fierce, driven by strong participation and innovative projects emerging from the Kusama先行网 (canary network) experience.
On October 13, Kintsugi — the canary network of Interlay — secured the final slot in Kusama’s second auction round by locking nearly 200,000 KSM. This concluded a highly competitive phase, after which the Kusama network now hosts 12 active parachains. Among them, Statemine was granted a slot through governance, while the rest — including Karura, Moonriver, Shiden, Khala Network, Bifrost, KILT Spiritnet, Calamari, Basilisk, Altair, Heiko, and Kintsugi — earned their spots via auction.
These early successes have unlocked critical advantages: shared security, cross-chain interoperability, and on-chain governance. But beyond the technical benefits, the real test lies in execution. How have the first wave of Kusama parachains performed since going live? Given that第二批 projects are still in early stages, this article focuses on the initial cohort — examining their progress across development, product launches, ecosystem growth, and key performance metrics.
Karura: Powering DeFi on Kusama
As the first project to win a Kusama parachain slot, Karura serves as Acala’s canary network and delivers a full-stack DeFi infrastructure. It offers liquid staking derivatives (LKSM), a multi-collateral stablecoin (kUSD), and an automated market maker (Karura DEX). During its auction campaign, Karura locked 501,137 KSM for a lease period from September 3, 2021, to May 19, 2022.
Since launch, Karura has made significant technical strides:
- Enabled XCM (Cross-Consensus Message Format) for cross-chain communication
- Upgraded its runtime to fix interest rate issues in the stablecoin protocol
- Launched Liquid Staking Lite, allowing users to stake KSM while maintaining liquidity
- Implemented multi-token incentive programs to boost adoption
Product-wise, Karura introduced:
- Karura Swap — Kusama’s first native DEX
- kUSD backed by KSM as the primary collateral
- Support for PHA/kUSD trading pairs and mining rewards
- Integration with Bifrost assets via HRMP channels
Strategic partnerships have further strengthened its position. Collaborations with Blockdaemon and successful XCM message transfers demonstrate growing interoperability. Additionally, kUSD has been adopted as a payment method for Web3 Foundation grants.
As of October 18, Karura reported impressive metrics:
- Total Value Locked (TVL): Over $300 million
- DeFi TVL: $120 million
- DEX TVL: $44.28 million (despite supporting only three native assets)
- Stablecoin TVL: $44.9 million
- Over 73,000 unique accounts
- More than 12.5 million kUSD minted
- Approximately 150,000 KSM bridged into the network (valued at over $53 million)
These numbers reflect strong user engagement and confidence in Karura’s role as a foundational DeFi hub.
Moonriver: Ethereum Compatibility Meets Polkadot Interoperability
Moonriver, Moonbeam’s companion network on Kusama, aims to provide an Ethereum-compatible smart contract platform built on Substrate. It enables developers to deploy dApps with minimal changes while benefiting from Polkadot’s cross-chain capabilities. Moonriver secured its slot by locking 205,935 KSM (September 4, 2021 – May 20, 2022).
Development activity remains robust — ranked #18 in Polkadot ecosystem activity over the past month. Key achievements include:
- Full deployment of EVM compatibility and transfer functions
- Release of five client versions and four operational updates post-launch
- Launch of a Liquidity Acceleration Program allocating 1 million MOVR tokens (10% of initial supply) to support ecosystem growth
Ecologically, Moonriver has partnered with over 20 projects such as Lido, AnySwap, DappLooker, and Figment — spanning NFTs, DAOs, DEXs, and cross-chain bridges.
By October 18:
- Wallet addresses exceeded 135,000
- Over 3.07 million on-chain transactions processed
- Around 1,800 ERC-20 assets created on-chain
- TVL surpassed $98 million (ranked #32 on DeFi Llama)
- Active collators increased to 48, with 9 pending nodes
- Each active collator backed by ~100 nominators
This level of decentralization and activity signals a healthy, growing network poised for expansion into broader use cases.
Shiden: Multi-VM dApp Hub for Kusama
Shiden, the canary network of Astar, operates as a multi-chain dApp layer for Kusama. It supports Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), WebAssembly (WASM), and Layer2 solutions — making it ideal for DeFi, NFTs, and gaming applications. Shiden won its slot with 138,457 KSM (September 5, 2021 – May 21, 2022).
Notable developments include:
- Runtime upgrades and migration from PoA to PoS consensus
- Launch of Shibuya testnet and mainnet token transfers
- Collaboration with Kylin Network to implement XCMP cross-chain calls
Future plans involve transitioning to NPoS consensus, enabling Ethereum bridging, launching full EVM/WASM smart contract support, and introducing DApp Staking — allowing developers to earn rewards when deploying infrastructure.
A $30 million Shiden Ecosystem Growth Fund has been launched to accelerate innovation. Partnerships with PolkaEx and Covalent further enhance data accessibility and trading capabilities.
Khala Network: Privacy-Preserving Cloud Computing
Khala Network, Phala Network’s canary chain, focuses on privacy-preserving cloud computing using TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) technology. It aims to bring secure computation to decentralized applications while maintaining regulatory compliance. Khala secured 132,280 KSM for its lease period (September 5, 2021 – May 21, 2022).
The network follows a four-era roadmap: Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Holocene. Currently in the Holocene phase, Khala has achieved:
- Removal of Sudo key and decentralized governance via council elections
- Launch of Secure Worker Mining (SWM) and token staking
- Introduction of a one-way bridge from Ethereum to Khala
- Enabled native transfers and worker registration
Upcoming upgrades include:
- Fast-track activation of the two-way Khala-Ethereum bridge for ERC20 PHA ↔ K-PHA conversion
- XCMP integration in PhaSe wallet for cross-chain functionality
As of October 18:
- Over 15,000 online SWM workers
- StakePool TVL exceeding 67.95 million PHA
This demonstrates strong participation in compute provisioning and trustless execution.
Bifrost: Unlocking Staking Liquidity
Bifrost is a DeFi protocol focused on providing liquidity for staked assets via vTokens (e.g., vsKSM). It also supports derivatives for parachain slot auctions (vsBond). Bifrost locked 136,817 KSM for its lease term (September 5, 2021 – May 21, 2022).
Ranked #4 in development activity over the past month, Bifrost has delivered:
- vsKSM and vsBond farming modules
- Governance activation and removal of Sudo privileges
- Support for KSM as transaction fee payment
- Bidirectional asset transfers between Kusama and Bifrost
- SALP (Slot Auction Liquidity Protocol) module for decentralized contributions
- Native swap functionality and kUSD transfer support
Over ten parachain projects — including Calamari, Basilisk, and Heiko — have registered under SALP, highlighting Bifrost’s pivotal role in auction financing.
Ecosystem integrations include:
- xToken cross-chain flow with Acala
- DEX capabilities via Zenlink deployment
- Cross-chain transfers with Statemine
As of October 18:
- Over 55,000 holder addresses
- More than 94,000 transactions recorded
FAQ Section
Q: What is the significance of Kusama’s parachain auctions for Polkadot?
A: Kusama acts as a canary network — a testing ground for innovations before deployment on Polkadot. The success of projects like Karura and Moonriver validates technical feasibility and market demand.
Q: Why do projects need parachain slots?
A: Parachain slots grant access to Polkadot’s shared security model, high-speed transaction processing via relay chains, and seamless cross-chain interoperability through XCM.
Q: How does SALP benefit parachain bidders?
A: The Slot Auction Liquidity Protocol allows users to contribute KSM without locking it long-term. Contributors receive vsBond tokens representing their stake plus potential rewards.
Q: Can non-Kusama projects succeed in Polkadot auctions?
A: Yes — while Kusama experience helps, teams with strong technical design, community backing, and clear utility can still win slots based on merit.
Q: What determines a successful parachain post-auction?
A: Success depends on sustained development activity, ecosystem partnerships, user adoption (TVL, transaction volume), and effective governance participation.
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Core Keywords
Polkadot parachain auction, Kusama, Karura, Moonriver, Bifrost, Shiden, Khala Network, DeFi on Polkadot
With Polkadot’s inaugural auction approaching on November 11, the achievements of these pioneering Kusama projects serve as both inspiration and blueprint. Their progress underscores the importance of continuous innovation, strategic collaboration, and community-driven development in shaping the next generation of Web3 ecosystems.