What is IBD and why does Kaspa node sync speed matter?

IBD (Initial Block Download) is the catch-up process a Kaspa node runs when it first joins the network or recovers after being offline — it must download and verify all historical blocks before it can participate. Recent improvements to the IBD flow make this process handle edge cases better, including pruning-point movement and transitional sync states that previously caused nodes to stall or behave unpredictably. Practical impact means smoother initial sync and catchup behavior, more robust recovery, and more predictable progression under real-world node conditions. For anyone running a node at home or in production, a better IBD means your node becomes useful faster and recovers from outages without manual intervention.