Cosmos Network (ATOM)

The Cosmos network addresses scalability, usability and sovereignty limitations of all blockchains trying to create a single platform that would fit all use cases. Cosmos began with the invention of Tendermint, the “gold standard” in proof of stake consensus, by Jae Kwon. Ethan Buchman joined him, wrote his thesis on Tendermint, and created All In Bits (dba Tendermint Inc) to push development forward. After coming up with the vision for an Internet of Blockchains they created the Interchain Foundation and conducted a fundraiser for the Cosmos Hub. Development progressed towards a launch of Cosmos’ first public proof of stake network in March 2019. 2020 is about finalizing the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol and launching the Cosmos Hub in Summer 2020.

More info about the value proposition can be found in this document.

These resources help you to get to know the Cosmos ecosystem and history. You will understand how Cosmos works and how you can join the Cosmos network. 

These resources help you to get to know Cosmos network and Cosmos hub on a technical level and to start working with it. After going through these resources you are able to determine when it makes sense to use Cosmos, how to set up and run a node, network or application. Don’t forget to check out the tooling.

The Cosmos Hub has a high inflation rate on a staking token (7-20%). This is to encourage all token holders to lock the token up in staking, thereby increasing security in the hub. The target rate of atoms locked up as collateral to secure the network is at least ⅔ of the total atom supply. Fees are paid on transactions in any token, these are the ultimate income to be expected by validators and delegators.

More information about Cosmos token economics can be found here.

The Cosmos Hub has an on-chain governance system that allows plain text proposals as well as parameter changes to be voted on. It uses a liquid democracy system so that votes can be delegated to different entities. Governance will soon include the ability to upgrade the binary running the blockchain with a governance proposal. A Cosmos governance working group was established and progress documented in this blog.

More about the governance procedure can be found here and in the forum.

The Cosmos ecosystem is rapidly growing. The non-profit Interchain Foundation, All in Bits Inc (dba Tendermint Inc), and IRIS Foundation Ltd. drive adoption through development and a grant system. By now, the Cosmos ecosystem has a strong network of validators, Cosmos developers, contributors as well as apps and infrastructure projects from all around the world.

In spring 2020, an adversarial testnet for IBC “Game of Zones” will be launched. In Summer 2020, the IBC is expected to launch and other zones such as Binance, Aragon, Loom, Terra, Althea, Kava, E-Money, Akash, Iris and Regen will be able to begin moving assets through the Cosmos Hub.

The main drivers in the Cosmos network and the largest stakeholders are well-known. Make sure to add all interesting new projects here and influencers here.