How does DAGKNIGHT differ from PHANTOM in how it handles the k parameter?

DAGKNIGHT removes the need to choose a fixed k parameter in advance, which is a key departure from how PHANTOM works. In PHANTOM, k is a predetermined value that represents how many parallel blocks the network expects at any moment — you pick it before the network runs, and the protocol optimizes around it. DAGKNIGHT instead solves what is called the 'Minimal k Majority Cluster subDAG' (MkMC) problem, meaning it figures out the right k on its own from the actual network data rather than requiring it to be hard-coded ahead of time. For a beginner, this matters because a fixed k is a bet on network conditions that may not hold — DAGKNIGHT's approach adapts to reality instead of assuming it.