Kaspa developer @asaefstroem reported that Kaspa can now verify any Groth16 proof generated by any proof system supporting that algorithm. This is a concrete technical unlock for Kaspa’s direction toward verifiable off-chain computation anchored to L1, rather than only fast payments. “Kaspa can now verify any Groth16 proof” - @asaefstroem [source]

The community immediately framed this as enabling broader application design: verifiable off-chain computation, privacy-preserving proofs, and “oracle-like” event verification without trusting a middleman. These interpretations were amplified in ecosystem channels rather than being purely narrative-only comparisons. “Kaspa can now verify Groth16… opens the door to verified off-chain computation, privacy-preserving proofs, oracle-like event verification” - @Kaspa_Commons [source]

A second thread connected Groth16 verification to demand drivers: more complex applications (including DeFi patterns) that can increase network usage. “ZK proofs + Covenants… bring verifiable computation onchain… broadening use case… increasing network usage and demand” - @asaefstroem [source]

@​michaelsuttonil summarized a sequencing approach: design the ZK building blocks first, map the vProgs architecture with synchronous composability, then implement the initial system aligned to the end state. This message mattered because it described an engineering order-of-operations rather than a roadmap promise. “Ideas… begin to materialize in real code… implementing that scheme on top of zk opcodes… order here matters” - @michaelsuttonil [source]

He also explicitly attributed foundational dependence to Ori Newman’s covenants work, reinforcing that these primitives are treated as a base layer for the ZK system rather than a separate add-on. “This builds on @OriNewman’s work on covenants… foundational primitive this zk system relies on” - @michaelsuttonil [source]

In parallel, community technical accounts circulated a weekly recap of covenants++ work items (space-saving “smart IDs,” native token work, selecting phone-friendly ZK math), indicating active iteration on Testnet 12 and supporting tools. “Recap… smart ids… native tokens… picking zk math fast enough for apps to run on a phone” - @Kaspa_Commons [source]

One Kaspa-focused X Space was scheduled for the end of the reporting window.

Live On The Kaspa Standard: w/Bishop & Juan-Ep 12, hosted by @glitchin888, Monday, Jan 19, 5:00 PM GMT - @glitchin888 [source]

Kaspathon officially started with 205 participants and shared starter resources and example repos, signaling a week oriented around shipping and integration rather than only discussion. “Kaspathon has officially started with 205 hackers coding away… resources… open-source project examples” - @kaspathon [source]

Community commentary pushed for “ship something real” expectations, reinforcing execution norms around the prize pool. “200,000 Kaspa bounty… isn’t for slides. Ship something real” - @kaspaunchained [source]

Early Kaspathon-linked app concepts began to be showcased, including a festival/event payment flow concept designed around QR payments and fiat-denominated credits while still settling on Kaspa. “Feature some Kaspathon submissions… payment app for events” - @Kaspa_Commons [source]

KasUniversity announced a learn-to-earn platform built natively on Kaspa L1: courses, quizzes that record completion proofs on-chain, and a diploma NFT mint after completion. This is a notable onboarding/education build that directly uses on-chain attestations, positioning education as an on-chain primitive rather than off-platform content. “First decentralized Learn-to-Earn platform built natively on Kaspa L1… quizzes recorded on-chain… mint your diploma” - @KasUniversity [source]

Ecosystem accounts amplified it as a new education on-ramp. “New: KasUniversity… first Learn-to-Earn platform on Kaspa L1” - @KaspaHub [source]

KaspaCom also acknowledged the project in a short ecosystem signal, suggesting ecosystem visibility for onboarding tooling. “Learn-to-Earn Kaspa” - @KaspaCom [source]

Igra Labs reported its “Galleon” closed mainnet is live, with deployments restricted to the dev team initially, and offered a bounty for finding Igra transactions on Kaspa L1 via transaction format. This was positioned as a testing phase before expanding orchestration scripts and load testing. “Galleon closed mainnet is live… bounty… next: orchestration scripts… load testing, telemetry” - @Igra_Labs [source]

The team later confirmed a bounty winner for identifying an Igra transaction on L1, demonstrating that the “find it on-chain” challenge was solvable and actively engaged. “We have a winner… found one of the recent Igra transactions on L1” - @Igra_Labs [source]

Separately, @Igra_Labs reiterated that they are using the closed mainnet for extensive testing, signaling that public deployment expectations remain staged. “This is a closed mainnet… using for extensive testing” - @Igra_Labs [source]

Igra Labs published a detailed rationale around Kaspa emissions decline (less than 14% remaining) and argued that miner revenue diversification will be needed before fees alone are sufficient. They proposed a temporary subsidy plan rewarding participants who both mine Kaspa and act as Igra Attesters, framing this as cross-layer revenue sharing. “Less than 14%… block rewards approach zero… propose an Igra subsidy plan for Kaspa miners… rewarding those who double as miners and Igra Attesters” - @Igra_Labs [source]

@DailyKaspa summarized the proposal and contextualized it with Kaspa’s one-year half-life emission schedule and the need for sustained utilization to build a robust fee market. “Temporary miner subsidy… as emissions decline… alternative miner revenue sources… seeking feedback from miners” - @DailyKaspa [source]

This topic also created a clearer “miner feedback loop” call-to-action, shifting mining discussion from hardware chatter to network security economics and cross-layer incentives.

Kasplex reached 10,000,000 blocks, and ZealousSwap reported being a leading DEX on that network with 2.7M+ total volume and 49,100+ swaps, framing it as a usage milestone rather than a token promotion. “Kasplex just hit 10,000,000 blocks… 2.7M+ in total volume and 49,100+ swaps” - @ZealousSwap [source]

The milestone is relevant because it indicates where current DeFi-like activity is concentrated and which venues are demonstrating repeated usage. It also provides a measurable benchmark for app-layer traction within Kaspa’s broader ecosystem.

KaspaCom launched a redesigned DeFi portal experience, emphasizing a unified place to swap, pool, deploy, and later lend/borrow. This is primarily a UX/integration improvement rather than a new protocol primitive, but it matters for user consolidation. “KaspaCom DeFi: Now Live with a Completely New Look… swap, pool, deploy, and soon lend and borrow” - @KaspaCom [source]

Igra Labs highlighted the deployment as an ecosystem touchpoint, signaling cross-project awareness and shared infrastructure building. “KaspaCom just deployed a new version of their portal” - @Igra_Labs [source]

Kaspero Labs continued shipping consumer-facing payment tooling with “Kaspa by Email” demonstrations, aiming to reduce onboarding friction and enable lightweight payment flows. “Live demo… get Kaspa by Email” - @KasperoLabs via @DailyKaspa [source]

During the week, Kaspero Labs also introduced a universal “Pay with Kaspa” web button concept, positioning it as embeddable payments infrastructure for any website (beta), including a simpler demo page for testing. “Universal kaspa payment processing service… create your own buttons… it works” - @KasperoLabs [source]

This payment tooling narrative was reinforced with an additional step: Google account sign-in was added to reduce friction for trying the product (still beta), indicating iteration on onboarding UX rather than only core protocol work. “Now you can sign up with your google account… add a Pay with Kaspa button” - @KasperoLabs [source]

KaspaLens launched exchange rankings across 24 exchanges for Kaspa and extended the same view to KRC20 tokens (not discussed here beyond the tooling context). “Launched Kaspa rankings across 24 exchanges… major step forward in data quality” - @KaspaLens [source]

KaspaLens also shipped a substantial expansion of “Top Addresses” tooling: visibility into the top 10,000 addresses and the ability to search any address with an estimated average entry price based on the last 1,000 transactions. “Revamped Top Addresses… view top 10,000… search ANY address… view average entry price” - @KaspaLens [source]

Separately, KaspaLens removed order book aggregation for data quality and cost reasons and stated futures markets and more exchanges are coming to its order book tooling, which would broaden market-structure visibility once added. “Provide non-aggregated order book data… futures markets + more exchanges are coming” - @KaspaLens [source]

AporiaExchange’s order book DEX development remained a key ecosystem infrastructure discussion, framed as a native trading venue prioritizing spot markets and aiming to solve liquidity and price discovery. While much of the week’s attention came via an interview format, the underlying point was the emergence of purpose-built market infrastructure for Kaspa. “Kaspa’s 1st orderbook dex… technical deep dive… building native trading infrastructure” - @xximpod [source]

Igra Labs also explicitly noted the Aporia team is building an order book DEX on Igra testnet, tying exchange infrastructure work to Igra’s L2 environment. “Aporia team keeps building order book DEX on Igra testnet” - @Igra_Labs [source]

@asaefstroem highlighted a personal 2026 goal of connecting Kaspa more closely to other ecosystems and pointed to a StroemNet litepaper describing true P2P atomic swaps for Kaspa. This is significant as an interoperability direction articulated by an identified developer rather than vague community speculation. “Bringing the Kaspa ecosystem closer to others… check out the paper… Kaspa will benefit” - @asaefstroem [source]

Several accounts described price action as range-bound below $0.05 with compressed volatility while reporting continued accumulation by large wallets. @DailyKaspa noted the largest wallet added Kaspa repeatedly, including an additional 39M Kaspa on Jan 13. “Wallet number 1… added another 39M… supply moving from liquid markets into long-term wallets” - @DailyKaspa [source]

Later in the week, @DailyKaspa reported another 4.8M Kaspa added by the top wallet while price struggled below $0.05, reinforcing the “accumulation during low volatility” storyline. “Largest wallet accumulated an additional 4.8 million Kaspa” - @DailyKaspa [source]

On-chain holding behavior was also emphasized: supply unmoved for over 1 year reached a new all-time high above 40% of total supply, indicating increased long-term holder share. “Supply that has not moved for over 1 year… now sitting at 40%+” - @DailyKaspa [source]

KaspaLens observed a 2–3x surge in trading volume with HTX cited as a meaningful contributor in a 24-hour window, suggesting renewed short-term participation even as broader price action stayed range-bound. “Kaspa trading volume just surged 2–3×… HTX… 6M+ in 24h volume” - @KaspaLens [source]

@DailyKaspa highlighted a liquidation cluster: nearly $23M in shorts would be liquidated if Kaspa moved back above $0.05, framing that zone as a volatility trigger area if revisited. “Nearly $23 million in short positions would be liquidated above $0.05” - @DailyKaspa [source]

Separately, @DailyKaspa described a classic Bollinger Band squeeze and low-volume consolidation, warning that compression signals energy build-up but not direction. “Bollinger Bands… tightest… volatility tends to expand… compression does not predict direction” - @DailyKaspa [source]

A snapshot from @kaspastats placed Kaspa around $0.048 with a market cap around $1.3B, mined supply at 94%, hashrate around 485.9 PH/s, and a current block reward of 3.46 Kaspa with a reduction in about 19 days. “Price 0.04793613… mined 94%… hashrate 485.91 PH/s… block reward 3.46… next reduction 19 day” - @kaspastats [source]

This week’s mining narrative was less about hashrate swings and more about miner revenue sustainability, driven by the Igra subsidy debate and the emissions runway discussion.

Developer activity remained a community proof point. @DailyKaspa reported 47 unique contributors on the Rust reference node and 64 developers contributing across the ecosystem in the last 12 months, emphasizing distributed development rather than a single-team effort. “Rust reference node has 47 unique contributors… 64 different developers… in last 12 months” - @DailyKaspa [source]

@kaspaunchained reinforced the “decentralized dev” angle by reiterating the 47 Rust contributor figure and noting GitHub may undercount the broader surface area, supporting the narrative of distributed shipping. “47 Rust node contributors… GitHub undercounts the real Kaspa surface area” - @kaspaunchained [source]

Education and adoption work also appeared via regional initiatives: Kaspa Nigeria referenced testing a “Kaspa Coffee Tool” and ongoing university outreach across multiple Nigerian institutions, seeking community support for education series expansion. “Driving real world adoption and Education… onboarded UNN, UNEC, FUNAI… next stops…” - @Kaspa_Commons [source]

The kaspa_stream explorer/indexer developer discussed usability feedback and shipped small UX adjustments, including adding text to the app drawer and adding the option to disable KNS integration in preferences. This reflects ongoing “power user tool” iteration based on community feedback. “Added text… option to disable KNS… in preferences” - @supertypo_kas [source]

KasMap shared progress toward a new version including night usability, focused on finding Kaspa community members and merchants without “hurting your eyes at night,” implying a product update aimed at practical discovery and merchant mapping UX. “KasMap by night… final steps before the new version goes live… find… Kaspa accepting merchants” - @KasMaporg [source]

Kasmedia referenced a weekly roundup highlighting protocol upgrades and institutional settlement infrastructure themes, pointing to a written recap rather than only social snippets. “Major breakthroughs this week… zk-oriented protocol upgrades… read it here” - @kasmediadotcom [source]

Kasmedia also introduced a Kaspa Analytics chart for Value Days Destroyed (VDD) Multiple, describing it as a conviction-weighted spending behavior metric for long-term holders. “New Kaspa Analytics Chart… VDD Multiple… analyzes conviction-weighted spending behavior” - @kasmediadotcom [source]