TL;DR: With a new update or project being released almost every day, it’s clear the crypto ecosystem is constantly evolving. Cosmos has gone through a lot of ups and downs to reach the level it’s at today — but it’s just the beginning. Knowing what brought it here and why it was created will lead you to make better decisions when investing or simply using Cosmos.

In this article, we’re gonna dive into the Cosmos ecosystem, answer all the $ATOM related questions and even more. Prepare yourself for a history lesson and a journey to the future of Cosmos!

What is Cosmos (ATOM)?

Cosmos a groundbreaking blockchain ecosystem that emerged from a vision to revolutionize the way networks operate and interact. Created in 2014 by Jae Kwon, Cosmos was designed to overcome the limitations and fragmentation of traditional blockchains.

At its heart lies the ATOM token, a vital asset within the Cosmos ecosystem. Serving as the native cryptocurrency, ATOM plays a crucial role in governing the network, incentivizing validators, and ensuring the smooth flow of transactions and interactions across the interconnected web of blockchains that constitute the Cosmos Network.

The concept of blockchains is not new, and Cosmos is one of many such networks. The idea started in 2008 with the release of Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin Whitepaper. This kicked of the subsequent creation of many different types of networks under the same “blockchain” terminology. Despite being similar in concept blockchains have all different architectures and use cases. What all have in common — including Cosmos — is that they have to be secure.

Security is the ability of a blockchain to prevent attacks and penalize malicious actors. This is usually done through their consensus algorithm and the mechanism they use to reach finality.

Finality is achieved when a block has been created and is now immutable, meaning that nobody can change the date inside.

Over time many different mechanism have been designed, ranging from Proof of Work, Proof of Stake to novel ones called Proof of Spacetime. Each one hopes to achieve the best way of securing the network they are built for. As noted before, Cosmos makes use of type of consensus mechanism we call “Proof of Stake” — or PoS for short.

Cosmos has been created with the goal of being an improved alternative to Ethereum. Ethereum has been created in 2014 and introduced the concepts of smart contracts. These are small applications that run inside a virtual machine called the Ethereum Virtual Machine.

The EVM allows for a blockchain to process more than simple token transfers. To give more info, it opened up the possibility to run applications in a decentralized manner.

Applications usually run in the cloud or on your computer, so running them on a blockchain was unheard of at the time. This makes them uncensorable (nobody can stop them) and ensures they’re always online — as long as the chain they run on is processing transactions.

While Cosmos and Ethereum share the broader goal of enabling decentralized applications and interoperability, they achieve this through different approaches. Cosmos utilizes the Tendermint consensus algorithm and the Cosmos SDK to enable the creation of interoperable blockchains, but it does not implement the EVM or Ethereum's specific architecture.

Due to the sheer size of the Ethereum ecosystem, Cosmos developers have worked their way around accommodating Ethereum devs to the Cosmos ecosystem. This “EVM bridge” is called Ethermint.

The purpose of Ethermint is to port the Ethereum Virtual Machine into an SDK module, allowing Ethereum-compatible applications and smart contracts to run within the Cosmos ecosystem.

Similar Ethereum’s vision for a “World Computer,” Cosmos has its own vision of creating the “Internet of Blockchains,” where multiple independent blockchains can interoperate, transact, and communicate seamlessly. This marks a shift from traditional blockchains, allowing an ecosystem that bridges these gaps, facilitating a higher level of cooperation and data sharing among different blockchains. 

To realize its vision, Cosmos employs a range of innovative tools and protocols. At the core of its technology is Tendermint BFT (Byzantine Fault Tolerant), a consensus algorithm that streamlines blockchain development by encapsulating the networking and consensus layers into a generic engine. This enables developers to focus on the application layer, enhancing efficiency and reducing development time.

The Cosmos SDK (Software Development Kit) is another fundamental component, offering a modular framework that simplifies the process of building secure blockchain applications. The modularity of the SDK fosters an ecosystem of modules, making it easier to create application-specific blockchains without starting from scratch. This encourages versatility and adaptability in the rapidly evolving blockchain landscape.

One pivotal component of Cosmos is the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. It acts as a bridge connecting different blockchains within the Cosmos network, enabling secure and efficient transfer of value and data between heterogeneous chains. IBC leverages the instant finality property of Tendermint consensus, ensuring seamless interoperability.

Cosmos adopts a Hub & Spoke architecture to structure its network. Hubs act as connectors, facilitating communication between various blockchains, known as Zones. This eliminates the need for direct connections between each blockchain, simplifying network management and scalability.

Furthermore, Cosmos offers solutions for bridging non-Tendermint chains. For instance, Peg-Zones act as proxies to track and bridge the states of blockchains that do not natively operate on Tendermint. This innovation allows compatibility with prominent blockchain platforms like Ethereum, enabling token transfers and interoperability.

In addressing scalability, Cosmos implements both vertical and horizontal scaling approaches. Vertical scalability optimizes the blockchain's performance and efficiency, enhancing its transaction throughput. On the other hand, horizontal scalability involves parallel processing across multiple interconnected blockchains, elevating the network's overall scalability and robustness.

In practical terms, Cosmos can process up to 10,000 TPS compared to Ethereum’s 15-25 TPS. However, specific transaction speeds can vary based on various factors such as network congestion, the number of active validators, the complexity of transactions, and the overall health of the network. 

The native token of the Cosmos Hub is called ATOM. Its primary function is to serve as a staking mechanism, contributing to the security of the Hub through deposits in the staking process. Analogously, you can envision ATOM as a virtualized ASIC in the context of Proof-of-Work mining. The quantity of staked ATOMs with a validator determines how often the validator can suggest a new block and its influence in voting to confirm a block.

By staking their ATOMs with a chosen validator, ATOM holders, who have delegated, become eligible for rewards, including block rewards paid in ATOMs and photons, as well as transaction fees paid in any of the approved tokens.

ATOM is an inflationary token due to the way its tokenomics have been planned. This means that new ATOM coins are created with each block and the the total number of ATOM tokens in circulation increases indefinitely

The Cosmos inflation rate sits currently at around 13% and it is capped at 20%. It is estimated that by 2030, the inflation rate for ATOM will be at around 10%.

Because Cosmos has no maximum amount of tokens that can be created, the inflation rate will be dependent upon the number of Cosmos chains being built.

For more details about how you can earn more Cosmos by running a validator node at home check out our Cosmos Mining & Staking guide. It includes the exact steps and best methods of earning more crypto like $ATOM in 2022 and beyond.

When was Cosmos (ATOM) created?

Cosmos (ATOM) emerged from the visionary minds of Jae Kwon and Ethan Buchman, with the inception of the Cosmos chain commencing in 2016. However, the foundation of Cosmos was laid through a series of significant events predating its official development.

The genesis of these events lay in the research carried out by Jae Kwon on Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) and Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus. BFT, a consensus mechanism resolving the Byzantine Generals' problem, formed the bedrock of secure blockchain consensus. The problem was akin to a group of generals deciding on a unified plan of attack or retreat. The complexity arose from the potential betrayal by some generals, reflecting the challenge of consensus in blockchain—failure to agree jeopardizes security. BFT consensus ensured system integrity even if a node, akin to a general, faltered.

BFT consensus had a rich history dating back to 1999, with Satoshi's implementation of Proof of Work being one of many approaches. The year 2014 marked a pivotal moment for Proof of Stake and blockchain technology. Vitalik Buterin, in the early months of 2014, introduced Ethereum and his version of Proof of Stake, featuring validators bonding their tokens, facing penalties if they engaged in malicious actions.

Inspired by the unfolding developments in Proof of Stake, Jae Kwon conceived Tendermint in the spring of 2014. Tendermint was a groundbreaking blockchain system, utilizing a classical Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus algorithm while incorporating Ethereum's slashing mechanism, forming the foundational principles of modern Proof of Stake blockchains.

In the early stages, the project embarked on its journey with a focus on Proof of Work (PoW)—the foundation upon which the entire venture was built. PoW, while effective, posed a significant challenge due to its adverse environmental impact. The dilemma lay in the balance between the industry it aimed to replace and the toll it took on the environment. The team, in their quest for a sustainable solution, shifted their focus to Proof of Stake (PoS)—an alternative that offered enhanced efficiency.

The transition to PoS marked a turning point. This new approach brought about heightened security and faster finalization of actions. PoS was not just an eco-friendly solution; it was a significant leap forward, addressing a multitude of challenges within the blockchain industry.

Motivated by the quest for a dependable and energy-efficient alternative to existing Proof of Stake implementations, Jae Kwon and his team set out to create a system with the security levels akin to Proof of Work. Thus, the Cosmos ecosystem, along with the Tendermint consensus protocol, was born.

Another important event was the moment Jae Kwon and his team settled on the vision for an interoperable network. 

Back in 2015, the idea of a network of blockchains was still a novel concept. Developers were still grappling with the inner workings of Ethereum, and interoperability was far on their roadmap. Jae had already studied the Proof of Stake implementation, and saw the opportunity to unite multiple blockchains under the same architecture, hence the “Internet of Blockchains” syntagm. 

Cosmos was envisioned as a network of blockchains, and among the initial blockchains launched was the Cosmos Hub. The Hub, although not the sole one of its kind, functioned as a vital connector to numerous other blockchains, facilitating token transfers among them. This breakthrough introduced an interoperable and scalable token economy, where thousands of blockchains could seamlessly interact. 

The Cosmos Hub addressed various challenges, serving as a pioneer in demonstrating the efficacy of Tendermint proof-of-stake with multiple signers and a cutting-edge consensus algorithm. Moreover, it integrated governance solutions to tackle emerging issues, embodying a self-amending ledger. Through its innovative approach, it enabled diverse blockchains to interconnect, promoting token interoperability. The overarching vision was to craft a scalable, interoperable blockchain economy by tackling the toughest barriers hindering progress in the blockchain sphere.

After validating their idea, Jae Kwon together with his began building today’s Cosmos blockchain and codebase.

The ATOM token, the native cryptocurrency of the Cosmos network, had its origins tied to a significant event—the Cosmos Initial Coin Offering (ICO). The token sale for ATOM commenced in April 2017, marking a critical milestone in the Cosmos project's journey.

The ICO represented an opportunity for individuals, developers, and supporters to participate in the Cosmos network's development and growth. It was designed to provide funding for the ongoing development and enhancement of the Cosmos ecosystem. ATOM tokens were made available to the public during this event, allowing enthusiasts to acquire a stake in the Cosmos network and contribute to its vision of interoperable, scalable blockchains.

The token sale was structured to attract various types of investors, including venture capitalists, institutional investors, and everyday crypto enthusiasts. It was a chance to invest in a project that sought to address some of the fundamental challenges facing blockchain technology at the time, particularly in terms of scalability, interoperability, and sustainability.

During the ICO, ATOM tokens were distributed to investors based on their contributions, essentially granting them a share of the Cosmos network and its future potential. The successful completion of the ICO marked the birth of the ATOM token, laying the foundation for its role within the Cosmos ecosystem.

ATOM has since become a crucial part of the Cosmos network, functioning as a medium of exchange, a means of validating transactions, and a mechanism for securing the network through staking. It continues to play a pivotal role in the growth and development of the Cosmos ecosystem, contributing to its vision of a decentralized and interconnected blockchain infrastructure.

Who created Cosmos (ATOM)?

Cosmos was created by Jae Kwon together with Zarko Milosevic and Ethan Buchman in 2016. 

Jae Kwon is the President of Interchain Foundation and the co-founder and CEO of Tendermint. He studied at Cornell University where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.

Jae Kwon began his career in 2005 working as a developer at Alexa.com, one of the biggest web analytics companies. During his two years at Alexa, Kwon developed and maintained the Alexa Web Search Platform. He also helped create the Alexa Web Thumbnail Service, an API for generating thumbnail images of websites.

After departing from Alexa, Kwon was hired at Yelp as their lead developer. He built the Yelp iPhone app and successfully launched at the Apple AppStore debut. His career as an employee was bright, but Kwon wanted to pursue the entrepreneurial path. He had always worked in San Francisco, and felt inspired by the amount of innovation happening in Silicon Valley.

Staring 2011, Kwon had co-founded a series of tech companies. The first one was called iDoneThis, a logbook to track daily activities through email. Although Kwon was involved in the company for eight months, iDoneThis had grown into an app with 160,000 teams. Their customers include Zappos, Shopify, Reddit, and American Express.

His next venture was Scramble.io, an end-to-end encrypted email system called Scramble.io, and a cryptocurrency exchange. Although the project has been retired, Jae Kwon fell in love with the cypherpunk ethos, which ultimately led him to pursue blockchain development.

In 2014, Jae Kwon had invented Tendermint. This was the first implementation of a Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) research in a Proof of Stake blockchain. His work was formalized in a whitepaper, and the crypto community learned about this novel consensus.

By the end of 2014, a community of crypto researchers have come together in the form of the Cryptocurrency Research Group (now defunct). The group was largely made of Proof of Stake proponents and had pioneers such as Vitalik Buterin, Vlad Zamfir, Dominic Williams, Jae Kwon, Ethan Buchman, and others.

The Tendermint software was initially implemented in Go, a popular language for building blockchains (Ethereum was also written in Go). Jae Kwon had already founded Tendermint Inc, which did business under Kwon’s company All in Bits Inc.

At the same time, Ethan Buchman was working for Eris Industries (now Monax) as the lead blockchain developer, with the mission to bring Ethereum to enterprise, and was looking for a Proof of Stake solution to integrate with. Tendermint turned out to be the best candidate.

Jae and Ethan worked together to implement the EVM on top of the Tendermint BFT consensus, calling it Ethermint. Following the success of Ethermint, in 2016 Jae Kwon and Ethan Buchman published the whitepaper for a project called Enuclear. Their idea was to create a fully decentralized interoperable blockchain system, using the Tendermint protocol. Later, they’ve rebranded the project to Cosmos. 

Jae created Cosmos with help from 2 computer engineers, Ethan Buchman and Zarko Milosevic. Ethan and Zarko were both involved in the creation of Cosmos. They work on the underlying protocol that powers Cosmos along with the rest of the Interchain Foundation members.

Ethan Buchman is the co-founder and CTO of Tendermint. In 2019, he left Tendermint and currently serves as the Vice President at Interchain Foundation.

Ethan graduated at the University of Guelph with a Bachelor’s degree in Biophysics. In 2011, he began his career working as a research scientist at Guelph before switching his interest towards cryptography.

In the early months of 2015, a significant gathering called CryptoEconomicon was organized by the CCRG in Silicon Valley. This event drew a prominent crowd from the early research and development community involved in blockchain technology. Notably, it was at CryptoEconomicon where Ethan and Jae, the visionary founders of Cosmos, first crossed paths. Their initial interactions delved into the exploration of potential vulnerabilities and attacks on Jae’s groundbreaking Tendermint algorithm. Following this encounter, a robust collaboration commenced, focusing on refining and advancing the Tendermint software.

Throughout the year 2015, Ethan and Jae were deeply engrossed in refining the Tendermint software. Their efforts included integrating the Ethereum Virtual Machine into the Tendermint application state, a precursor to what would be known as “Ethermint”. Various enhancements were introduced to augment the utility of Tendermint, alongside crucial improvements to the consensus algorithm.

Concurrently, Ethan pursued his Master's Degree at the University of Guelph. His academic endeavor culminated in a thesis titled “Tendermint: Byzantine Fault Tolerance in the Age of Blockchains”, a comprehensive exploration of Tendermint covering its consensus algorithm, software architecture, and performance evaluation. Widely recognized, this thesis serves as an essential historical reference within the realm of blockchains and Proof-of-Stake, rooted in the classical Byzantine Fault Tolerance tradition.

The latter part of 2015 witnessed pivotal discussions between Jae and Eris Industries concerning the copyright of the Tendermint codebase, encompassing an implementation of the Ethereum Virtual Machine. These discussions drove Jae to introduce a critical abstraction layer between the Tendermint consensus engine and the application state machine it replicated.

This interface, now identified as the Application Blockchain Interface (ABCI), proved transformative. It enabled complete decoupling of application logic from the Tendermint consensus engine, allowing separate processes and diverse programming languages for execution. This pivotal shift solidified Tendermint as the versatile state-machine replication engine we recognize today. Notably, it facilitated the modular extraction of Ethereum Virtual Machine components, a significant milestone at the time.

As the year drew to a close, Ethan made a resolute choice to part ways with Eris Industries and co-found a venture around the burgeoning Tendermint codebase alongside Jae. This decision marked the formalization of his role as a co-founder of All in Bits Inc, where he assumed the position of Chief Technology Officer (CTO), steering the nascent company towards its promising future.

In the early months of 2016, All in Bits (AiB) embarked on a quest to secure funding from venture capitalists to fuel the development of Tendermint-based enterprise solutions and Proof-of-Stake application hosting. However, this was a time when venture capitalists were just beginning to grasp the nuances of Bitcoin, and the concept of Tendermint and its potential was beyond the immediate comprehension of many. 

During this juncture, Ethan and Jae joined forces with Peng Zhong, a skilled designer and web developer with whom Jae had collaborated on previous projects. Peng set to work on crafting early blockchain explorers and wallet designs to support prospective products. However, as the months unfolded, it became evident that the timing wasn't conducive to their aspirations. 

Ethan and Jae revisited their fundamental motivations: to address critical challenges in security, speed, flexibility, and usability within the domain of public cryptocurrency systems. Their overarching goal was to lay a robust foundation for a more sustainable paradigm in the realms of finance and currency.

Amidst iterative design processes and fervent debates on funding strategies, the pivotal concept of Cosmos began to take shape. The duo penned down the Cosmos whitepaper, envisioning an "Internet of Blockchains" grounded in the formidable Tendermint consensus engine, the versatile ABCI application interface, and an innovative TCP-like protocol named InterBlockchain Communication (IBC).

Jae meticulously outlined the initial specifications of the IBC protocol, a blueprint enshrined within the whitepaper. The inaugural blockchain in this envisioned network was to be designated as the Cosmos Hub, a Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrency ecosystem featuring its native token, ATOM.

The cryptocurrency community embraced the Cosmos Whitepaper enthusiastically, and Tendermint gained traction as a flexible and mature platform for constructing blockchain applications. As summer 2016 drew to a close, Ethan and Jae secured initial funding to set the wheels of Cosmos in motion.

In parallel, All in Bits found itself engaged by Votem Inc, entrusted with hosting the annual vote for the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame on a Tendermint blockchain. This project was successfully executed during the fall, cementing its significance as the 2017 inductees into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, including the iconic Tupac, were elected using a Tendermint blockchain. This achievement bolstered the credibility of the project, further propelling its adoption.

During this juncture, the user base of Tendermint experienced a substantial surge, and the Cosmos project gained noteworthy recognition. In a momentous achievement, Cosmos was honored with the Most Innovative Project award at the International Blockchain Week held in Shanghai in September 2016, a prestigious event co-hosted with Ethereum's Devcon II.

By the year's end, Jae and Ethan initiated their first round of hires at All in Bits, marking a significant milestone as the project continued to gather momentum and the team expanded. 

How is the Cosmos (ATOM) token used?

The fundamental asset within the Cosmos Hub ecosystem is known as the "ATOM," serving as the native token of this blockchain nexus. Atoms operate as a linchpin for securing the Hub through staking mechanisms during the staking process, drawing a parallel, albeit loosely, to Proof-of-Work mining analogies. 

The volume of atoms staked by a validator determines how frequent a validator may propose a fresh block and its significance in votes to finalize a block. This weighted voting system forms the bedrock of the validation process, enriching the ecosystem’s resilience.

Making a transaction on the Cosmos network requires a small fee in ATOM, usually around $0.04. Because Cosmos has a quick time to finality and processes more transactions per second the gas fees quickly add up. This small fee is paid by users and goes to validators for doing their work. This incentivizes ATOM holders to actively engage with their tokens and contribute to network security, thus promoting a sustainable approach.

Transaction fees within the Cosmos Network are paid in ATOM tokens, akin to existing blockchains. What sets Cosmos apart is its plan to accept an array of tokens for transaction fee payments, further enhancing the flexibility and accessibility of the network. Transaction fees, reduced by a network tax allocated to a reserve pool, are distributed among validators and delegators based on their stake, ensuring equitable compensation.

Innovatively, the network contemplates the introduction of a secondary fee token, "photon," intended for paying fees alongside the native staking token, atom. The photon aims to bolster network security by reducing atom liquidity, making it challenging for potential attackers to amass a significant stake. The concept is aligned with the dynamic inflation of the atom supply, reinforcing the value of staked atoms and compelling active participation.

A notable plan involves a "hard spoon" distribution of photons to bonded-atom, ether, and bitcoin holders. This mechanism, similar to an airdrop, leverages a blockchain snapshot, enticing users to migrate to the Cosmos Network and capitalize on its enhanced performance. Parameters of this hard spoon mechanism will be subject to governance votes, embodying the decentralized ethos at the core of Cosmos.

ATOM is currently listed on multiple exchanges. The major ones are Binance, Coinbase and Kraken.

If you want to skip ahead and learn how to earn more Cosmos by running a validator node at home check out our Cosmos Mining & Staking guide. It includes the exact steps and best methods of earning more crypto like $ATOM in 2022 and beyond.

Who is developing Cosmos (ATOM) now?

In February 2017, mirroring the organizational blueprint of Ethereum, a non-profit entity named the Interchain Foundation (ICF) was established in Switzerland. This entity was entrusted with steering the vision and objectives of the Cosmos ecosystem. The ICF was governed by a Foundation Council (FC), initially comprised of Jae, Ethan, and a local Swiss board member, Guido Schmitz-Krummacher.

During its token sale in April 2017, the Interchain Foundation successfully raised 16.8 million dollars in bitcoin and ether tokens, providing essential funding for the development of the Cosmos network. Following the sale of its ATOM token, the foundation allocated funds to various key entities within the Cosmos ecosystem, including Agoric Systems Operating Company, in which they acquired traditional equity. Furthermore, the ICF invested in Tendermint, fueling the development of the foundational technology for its ambitious interoperability objectives, known as the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.

In 2022, the foundation launched The Interchain Developer Academy, a comprehensive seven-week online training program designed to support developers in initiating or advancing their careers in the blockchain domain, thereby attracting additional talent to the Cosmos Ecosystem. The Interchain Foundation fully funds this academy, ensuring that participants can enroll without any training fees. The program offers a rich learning experience, granting participants access to seventy hours of content curated and taught by blockchain experts from the Foundation’s educational partner, B9lab.

In parallel with the development around ICF, All in Bits (AiB) was accelerating its efforts in advancing the Cosmos software. The team had bootstrapped testnets for Tendermint-based chains and worked alongside a prototype of the innovative InterBlockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.

As of 2017, AiB witnessed significant growth, swelling to a team of around 20 individuals. Their focus encompasses the refinement of wallets, crafting an application framework, enhancing Tendermint, and engineering proof-of-stake algorithms. 

The team is deeply engrossed in iterative enhancements of the Cosmos-SDK and Cosmos Hub software. Additionally, they are deeply engrossed in conceptualizing Ethereum bridges, Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs), smart contract languages, and various other vital components.

Parts of the codebase was written by external developers, making open source contributors pivotal to the success of Cosmos. Contributors are also shareholders of the project, and their contribution ranges from coding to participating in the discussions and proposing code changes.

The development of the Cosmos SDK is a collaborative effort with multiple stakeholders actively contributing and shaping the project. At its core, the SDK is driven by a team from Interchain GmbH and Regen Network Development, dedicated developers who play a pivotal role in its evolution.

Interchain GmbH is a technology company and development entity that is significantly involved in the development and advancement of blockchain and related technologies. It was founded by Ethan Buchman and Zaki Manian, who are also significant figures in the Cosmos ecosystem. Ethan Buchman is one of the co-founders of Cosmos, and Zaki Manian is a well-known blockchain developer who has made substantial contributions to the Cosmos Network.

Interchain GmbH is particularly notable for its contribution to the Cosmos ecosystem, including the Cosmos SDK and other related projects. The company plays a crucial role in building and maintaining the fundamental infrastructure that underpins the Cosmos Network, aiming to enable interoperability and scalability in the blockchain space.

Regen Network Development is an organization that plays a crucial role in the development and growth of the Regen Network, a separate blockchain project focused on ecological and environmental sustainability. Regen Network is designed to facilitate agreements for ecological restoration and conservation, utilizing blockchain technology to incentivize sustainable practices and reward ecological stewardship.

While the Regen Network is distinct from Cosmos, Interchain GmbH, and the Cosmos ecosystem, it is worth noting that they share a common figure. Ethan Buchman, who is also closely involved with Regen Network Development. His involvement signifies the interconnectedness and collaborative nature of various blockchain projects within the broader blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

Governance within the Cosmos Network is decentralized and transparent, allowing token holders to vote on proposals that modify system parameters, introduce upgrades, or amend the governing constitution of the Cosmos Hub. This framework ensures that decisions are inclusive and representative of the community’s interests.

The governance of Cosmos is an on-chain process, meaning that decisions and proposals regarding the Cosmos network are made directly within the blockchain itself. This approach allows for a decentralized and transparent decision-making process.

Participants in the Cosmos network, particularly token holders, can propose changes, updates, or improvements to the network. These proposals are submitted and discussed within the Cosmos ecosystem, and token holders are able to vote on them using their tokens.

What are the latest updates on Cosmos (ATOM)?

Cosmos in 2019

The historic launch of the Cosmos Hub commenced on March 13th, 2019, at precisely 23:00 UTC. A global cohort of validators and dedicated community members actively participated in this significant event. This event was the realization of an extensive two-year effort, initiating the inaugural phase of the three-phase rollout for the Cosmos Network, famously hailed as the "Internet of Blockchains.”

Minutes after going live, the Cosmos Hub was stuck on block 17 when a validator went offline, halting the network because less than 66.67% of staked ATOM were left online. The uncertainty was over when, moments later, the community rallied to bring online some more voting power.

Following this launch, the subsequent stages of the Cosmos Network's development were meticulously laid out. The second phase involved the facilitation of ATOM transfers, a crucial stride that was successfully achieved in April 2019. The third phase marked the pursuit of a production-ready Inter-blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, a vital component essential for achieving seamless interoperability.

In June 2019, the IBC specification was definitively established, setting the course for forthcoming developments. For the remaining of the year, the team worked on IBC's integration and optimization, with a promise of a demonstration and a public IBC testnet on the horizon.

For the remaining of the year, Cosmos users were not able to transfer ATOM tokens outside of staking. Transfers were to be enabled by the validators after they voted on what is called the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.

The Cosmos Hub mainnet was the biggest highlight for the community. Over the course of the year, validators would work with the team to ensure the network stays stable. As of 2019, Cosmos had 70 validators, some of them who offered staking-as-a service to smaller ATOM holders.

Cosmos in 2020

In 2020, Cosmos started out strong with a decentralized community of 125 validators and 15 on-chain governance proposals created and voted on. Their stress tests had paid off, as more people had joined the Cosmos community.

Participants in the Game of Zones, a stress test environment, successfully helped identify bugs and errors. As the world was sinking in the pandemic panic, Cosmos developers were quietly working to patch IBC and release improved testnet versions.

The upcoming upgrade was dubbed “Stargate”. It was the final step before Cosmos-based chains were connected together using Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC). 

IBC was the big moment the Cosmos community was waiting for. It represented the final step in realizing their vision since development started in 2016. 

To make things easier, developers have released the ingredients for the IBC release. It was a purely technical specification document that laid out the logic – no code had been written to this point. Once the groundwork was completed, Cosmos would release the update under a new SDK.

The Stargate upgrade bundled together a lot of changes, and it was necessary to go through several release candidates and intensive sequences of testnets to ensure that the software was ready to deploy to production.

Once stable software releases were achieved, and all tested features and sequences operated smoothly, a final upgrade proposal was prepared for the Cosmos Hub. This proposal executed a halt-restart upgrade, atomically switching from the current software to the Stargate release.

Once Hub stakeholders were confident that the protocol was secure and safe to use, a second parameter-change proposal was able to activate cross-chain transfers. After this activation, tokens could be sent from the Hub to any IBC-compatible chain, and from any IBC-compatible chain to the Hub.

On October 20, Cosmos had announced the “Big Bang” Stargate testnet. 

The goal of Big Bang was to create a multi-chain test environment that tested, simulated, and benchmarked the post-Stargate Cosmos. As every stack of software required for the Stargate upgrade had matured, the software used and procedures handled in Big Bang mimicked the real world. The aim was to provide a vibrant testing ground for validators, developers, ecosystem projects, and others, offering a useful experience and a final chance to be Stargate ready.

Since the development of Stargate was decentralized across different entities, it felt apt that the testnet would be run by multiple entities. Big Bang was operated by Regen Network, Vitwit, and Tendermint. And yes, contributions were welcome!

In parallel with the Stargate testnet, Cosmos developers had been working on an implementation of EVM for the Cosmos SDK. In simple terms, developers were looking to offer the familiar tools for Ethereum developers looking to deploy their dapps on Cosmos. Powered by the Tendermint consensus, Ethermint provides instant finality and enables builders to enjoy higher throughput, lower gas prices and a more modular framework.

By integrating the EVM as a Cosmos SDK module, Ethermint can readily support smart contracts, DAOs, or Dapps deployed on Ethereum. This ensures that instant finality PoS consensus is accessible immediately for anyone interested. Ethermint effectively taps into the extensive Ethereum developer community and combines it with the enhanced throughput, lowered gas costs, and heightened modularity of Cosmos, offering a blend of the strengths from both ecosystems.

Cosmos in 2021

2021 was Cosmos’s best year to date, reaching an all time high of $44.70. This was heavily influenced by a few key events and updates.

The most important factor was the IBC mainnet, which happened on March 29, 2021. This implementation followed a vote conducted by members of the Cosmos ecosystem.

The Cosmos team stated that over 1500 validators and delegators in its ecosystem had signaled their support for IBC activation. IBC was subsequently made live on the platform, enabling both fungible (cross-chain payments) and non-fungible token (NFT) transfers between various blockchains.

The activation of IBC unlocked a plethora of new possibilities for blockchain applications. Blockchain networks integrating IBC gained the ability to utilize it for executing multi-chain smart contracts, distributing logic across blockchains. Additionally, IBC brought forth enhanced security features to the Cosmos ecosystem. In the midst of DeFi gaining momentum and reaching a total value locked (TVL) of $43.34 billion, the Cosmos team emphasized the pivotal role IBC would play in enabling Cosmos and other projects within the Hub to actively participate in DeFi.

Particularly, the Gravity DEX decentralized exchange was highlighted, set to operate initially as an automated market maker (AMM) akin to Uniswap (UNI) and others. It would soon launch on Cosmos, allowing users to trade IBC-supported tokens and contribute liquidity for traders.

The team mentioned that these tokens would enter the Hub through IBC-enabled chains, IBC-wrapped BTC tokens, and forthcoming blockchain ecosystems implementing the IBC protocol.

Additionally, the team hinted at exponential growth in the Cosmos Hub since its inception. The ecosystem now encompassed over 200 blockchains with a collective market cap exceeding $60 billion. Moreover, active efforts were underway in developing multiple cross-chain bridges such as Celo-Cosmos, Ethereum-Cosmos, and more.

Another bullish event was the roadmap for Cosmos Hub 2.0. A couple of the biggest upcoming upgrades were staking derivatives and interchain staking.

In 2021, ATOM holders received rewards by staking their tokens with validators to secure the Cosmos Hub, a process involving bonding the tokens. Looking back at roadmap 2.0, there were plans for staking derivatives. These derivatives were aimed at allowing the collateralization of delegations, opening up possibilities for applications like DeFi lending and Gravity DEX swaps. ATOM holders had the chance to stake their tokens while reaping the benefits of the broader DeFi ecosystem.

Within the Cosmos Hub Roadmap 2.0, a notable feature was Interchain Staking. It stood out for integrating IBC with Proof of Stake to kickstart the economic security of emerging chains.

In this approach, validators operating on a parent chain had the option to validate on a subsidiary chain, exposing themselves to potential slashing on the parent chain. This setup ensured that validators, already trusted with securing the Cosmos Hub, could extend their security to new chains. They stood to gain increased rewards for safeguarding these subsidiary chains but faced penalties for any misconduct.

At last, Cosmos announced Gravity bridge, an interoperable bridge between Cosmos and Ethereum, that went live on July 21, just as the DeFi summer was heating up.

Within this interoperable ecosystem, the Gravity Bridge stands as fundamental infrastructure, universally accessible to all Cosmos chains. It was designed for swift updates and iterations, addressing the bridge requirements of interacting chains. Open markets and seamless trading were playing a pivotal role in unlocking liquidity for Cosmos. The launch of Gravity Bridge elevated the entire Cosmos network, bolstering the value of ATOM and nurturing the ecosystem for the Internet of Blockchains.

Cosmos Gravity Bridge launched with a decentralized validator set and roughly half of the tokens allocated to community DAO discretion for airdrops, future ecosystem support, and liquidity mining. The Gravity bridge is a permissionless bridge, supporting any Cosmos blockchain and frontend that wishes to access and bridge assets. It is supported by an active and healthy community of token holders and validators who would make guiding decisions like the implementation of interchain staking and airdrops. 

Cosmos in 2022

The year 2022 has been an interesting year to say the least. Now that IBC is in full effect and liquidity starts flowing through the Gravity Bridge, the team is focusing on the next steps to enable seamless interoperability.

One of the developments is Interchain Accounts. Developed by a collaborative effort of Interchain GmbH, Chainalysis, Informal Systems, and Confio, Interchain Accounts take IBC-enabled blockchains beyond simple token transfers. Entire blockchains can now have control over accounts on separate chains. Instead of users merely transferring tokens across different chains, Interchain Accounts grant direct access to all IBC-enabled Cosmos chains from a single Cosmos Hub account.

This innovation holds significant importance as it allows Cosmos ecosystem blockchains to utilize application features from other chains and perform any action native to those chains. For instance, a Cosmos chain could initiate transactions on Osmosis (such as staking, voting, swapping tokens, etc.) and vice versa. This enhancement greatly elevates the user experience and introduces much-needed composability to the Cosmos ecosystem.

Interchain Accounts revolutionize composability and interoperability of smart contracts across diverse blockchains. This paves the way for a DeFi boom within the application-specific blockchains of the Cosmos ecosystem. With IBC-enabled composability, deploying innovative solutions in distinct applications becomes a seamless process, free from extensive upgrades.

Moreover, in contrast to ecosystems like Ethereum where applications often sacrifice their autonomy and comply with the layer 1 governance, IBC allows blockchains to retain their complete sovereignty while achieving interoperability. In essence, the introduced composability by Interchain Accounts doesn't compromise the advantages of application-specific blockchains.

The Cosmos Hub, Sommelier, and Osmosis have been the first protocols integrating the Interchain Accounts module into their respective chains, spearheading the next era of Cosmos interoperability. Specifically, the Cosmos Hub has planned the integration of the Interchain Accounts module during the Theta Upgrade in Q1 2022, pending approval through the governance process.

On October 27, Cosmos has announced the third round of its public incentivized testnet, following Game of Stakes and Game of Zones. Behold, Game of Chains!

Game of Chains represents an incentivized testnet initiative designed to aid validators in building confidence with Interchain Security (ICS). It also serves as a public platform for comprehensive testing of this new technology.

Interchain Security, a pivotal feature, enables the Cosmos Hub to share its security with other blockchains. Technically, this means that the Cosmos Hub's validator set gains the capability to validate other blockchains, referred to as "consumer chains". These chains will benefit from security backed by the Cosmos Hub's substantial staked ATOMs, amounting to billions of dollars.

In August, Informal Systems unveiled the v0.1 pre-release of Interchain Security, providing an early version of the Interchain Security protocol slated to go live in January 2023. This protocol implementation covers validator set change packets and confirmations, slashing packets, distribution packets, and Cosmos-SDK modifications. The complete specification is available for review.

During this testnet phase, collaborative efforts focused on testing the protocol's features that validators will eventually operate. Additionally, validators had the opportunity to test consumer chain software that will adopt Interchain Security in 2023. Notable projects in this category include Neutron, Duality, and Stride.

Winners of Game of Chains stand to receive a total of 20,000 ATOMs in rewards. The competition, open to Cosmos Hub validators, offers rewards funded by the community pool through Prop 77.

Cosmos in 2023

In the current year, Cosmos has drawn closer to its next big feature: Interchain Security. This upgrade promises to create more value for the ATOM token and grow the ecosystem to unprecedented levels.

With the approval of the token holders, the Cosmos Hub can now lease its robust security to “consumer chains,” allowing new projects to bootstrap their economies while rewarding ATOM validators and delegators with fees.

Interchain security encapsulates a range of "shared security" protocols. Among these, various versions, designs, and configurations exist. The primary and simplest form is replicated security, where the validator set from the provider chain (like the Cosmos Hub) is replicated to validate blocks on the consumer chain. This direct alignment of validators enables the consumer chain to adopt the comprehensive security of the Cosmos Hub, as each validator contributes its stake to the new chain.Replicated security is a big deal for Cosmos, but it has its limits. 

The Cosmos Hub can only handle a certain number of chains this way. To bring in new chains and use the replicated security upgrade, it takes about a day of focused work from a developer. As more chains adopt this security approach, we'll need to speed up this process. In this year, the Cosmos Hub can handle around five to ten chains using replicated security. However, it's hard for validators to handle more chains right away because they need a separate server for each chain.

To address these limits, Informal Systems is developing "Opt-in Security." With this, validators can choose if they want to secure a specific new chain or not. It's like giving them the option to join the security team of a new building, but they're not forced to. This helps prevent burnout among validators. But as we look ahead to a future with possibly thousands of new chains, we're still figuring out how to make security work on a larger scale. We're exploring different options like Layered Security and Mesh Security.

Five consumer chains have expressed their plans to launch with replicated security in the near future. Additionally, there's a lineup of other chains in various stages of discussion, some in early stages and others in more advanced phases. For those consumer chains eager to kickstart with replicated security, they need to present their proposals on the Cosmos Forum for community discussion and subsequently on Cosmos Hub governance for a voting period of two weeks to determine approval or rejection.

Neutron, for instance, initiated this process by submitting its proposal on the Cosmos Forum on March 31. The response from the community was overwhelmingly positive. Following this, the proposal was formally introduced on-chain on April 22 and successfully gained approval after the designated voting period. Neutron proudly became the pioneering consumer chain to launch using replicated security on May 10.

Stride, recognized as the largest provider of liquid staking within the Cosmos network, initiated its proposal process on the forum on April 14. Subsequently, on April 27, the proposal was officially introduced on-chain. The community approved Prop 794 on May 12, paving the way for Stride to become the second consumer chain set to launch in the upcoming days. 

As part of the initial security agreement, the Cosmos Hub is slated to receive 25% of the transaction fees for securing Neutron. These fees will be collected by both ATOM holders and validators. Neutron has also put forward a proposition to share 25% of its MEV (Miner Extractable Value) revenue. In this arrangement, Cosmos Hub will receive and distribute additional rewards in NTRN (Neutron's native token) from transaction fees and MEV bids. ATOM validators and delegators will also benefit from these rewards, including extra ATOM obtained from transaction fees.

Cosmos is in a constant growth cycle, and network participants like us can earn more $ATOM without too much hassle or technical knowledge, right from the comfort of our homes. 

Learn how to do that in our Cosmos Mining & Staking guide, which includes the exact steps and best methods of earning more crypto like $ATOM in 2024 and beyond.