An experimental canary network of Polkadot launched in 2019, Kusama (KSM) functions as a useful proving ground for developers and individuals to build and test parachains. Users can test Polkadot’s governance and staking, as well as nomination and validation, while the team are forewarned of any glitches or problems that might translate to Polkadot itself. Kusama has no central kill-switch and is owned by its community. It will run as long as they maintain it. Meanwhile, KSM describe their tokens as ‘utilitarian’, adding that they ‘do not condone trading or selling of KSM, only using them to experiment on the canary network’.