COSMOS (ATOM)

Ankit Singh

4 min readDec 7, 2020

"Internet of Blockchains” 

1. Short introduction

2. Brief Introduction

3. Faces behind Atom

4. Tokenomics

5. Usecase and value of atom

SHORT INTRODUCTION -
Cosmos is commonly known as the “Internet of Blockchains” . Cosmos is a Network of different Crypto Networks connected by an open-source too for streamlining all transactions between different networks. 

In simple words, Cosmos is a Network that unites other networks to interact with each other under the Cosmos network. This helps all participating networks to interact with each other using the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol(IBC).

We have seen, other blockchains like Ethereum and Bitcoin not able to interact with each other giving a disturbance to the user to switch between networks. Thus cosmos is referred to as the “Internet of Blockchains” .

BRIEF INTRODUCTION-

Cosmos focuses on customizability and interoperability between different networks which makes it special from other projects. Cosmos is an ecosystem of networks that can share data and tokens programmatically with no central party involved. In fact, Cosmos doesn’t need any liquidity to exchange tokens among two different networks i.e. Inter-Network exchange.

Each network within the Cosmos network is called a “Zone” , while the main network of cosmos that connects other networks is called “Cosmos Hub” and is the first network built on Cosmos.

⚛How does Cosmos work-

The Cosmos network consists of three main layers viz, .

Application: Processing a the transactions and updating the state of the network.

2. Networking: Allows communicating between different networks to sign transactions. 

3. Consensus: Helps nodes to agree on the current state of the system.

Inter-blockchain Communication (IBC) : I

Inter-blockchain Communication is simply transactional communication between two zones on Cosmos with the help of hub as mediator bridge to both participating networks.

For example, if zone1 wants to send a coin packet to zone2 then it will go through the hub whereas zone1 will post proof of packet to the receiver.

TENDERMINT-

The most essential element of the Cosmos layered system is the Tendermint BFT that allows developers to build blockchains without having to code them from scratch.

What is Tendermint Byzantine Fault Toerance BFT?

BFT is the central core of Tendermint , which works on the proof-of-stake governance mechanism. Tendermint BFT keeps the hub in syncing status. 

In other words, the Tendermint BFT is mainly associated with functions like the power of blockchain and vote on changes.

Faces behind atom-

The founder of Cosmos is none other than blockchain programmer, Jae Kwon. The architect was the hot topic earlier this year, as he came under public scrutiny for allegedly abandoning Tendermint to work on a new project, Virgo. Kwon was the founder and CEO of Tendermint, which was backed by investment and consulting firms such as Bain Capital Venture and Paradigm.

Along with co-founders Zarko Milosevic and Ethan Buchman, Kwon established Tendermint as a blockchain startup in 2014. Cosmos was perfected by the trio and the main goal was to deliver interoperability among different blockchains. Cosmos was officially launched in November 2019. The project gained traction through its initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017, which raised $17 million in 29 minutes.

Tokenomics-

Official token of the Cosmos ecosystem is called ATOM. 168 million tokens were sold in a 2017 ICO, during which the project collected $17,300,000 in 28 minutes (thus completing 100% of its initial sale goal). The team held 50 million ATOMs for themselves to be used for funding and strategic partnerships.

The supply won’t be limited as the project plans to introduce a yearly inflatory model. Cosmos ATOM is still not publicly transferable; you might find exchanges trading it but those won’t be actual tokens. Those actually are forward tokens and IOU for Cosmos ATOM. The most active exchange trading these tokens is GDAC.

Actual ATOM tokens can be expected in the following weeks/months (the plan was to release them after the mainnet goes live). The project will also have photons, or tokens that can be used to pay for blockchain fees (similar to Ethereum’s gas).