Along with scalability, interoperability has always been a critical issue in the world of blockchain technology. The Cosmos ecosystem is quickly developing, with inter-blockchain transfers increasing in popularity. What separates Cosmos from other blockchains?
What is Cosmos ($ATOM)?
Cosmos (ATOM)is a decentralized ecosystem of separate blockchains that All In Bits Inc (dba Tendermint Inc) expects will provide the groundwork for the next generation of internet technologies. Rather than taking part in crypto faction wars, Cosmos links them all together, enabling interoperability, currency swaps, and an Internet of Blockchains (IoB). Atom is the network’s unique staking coin that also tokenizes transactions.
To do this, the team created two components: Tendermint Core and an Inter-Blockchain Communications (IBC) protocol. They form the Cosmos Network when they operate together.
Tendermint Core — Tendermint is an open-source foundation that serves as a blockchain development platform. Anyone having a blockchain-in-a-box implementation may use it to incorporate their own decentralized/distributed network, as well as their own BFT-compatible consensus process.
Inter-Blockchain Communications (IBC) — The interconnectivity layer is the next layer, which allows communication between all of the various chains. This results in a network of interconnected zones and hubs that operate independently while sharing a common system design. This is the primary layer for cross-chain token, data, and digital asset exchanges.
Cosmos Network, like a large number of other Blockchains, is composed of three layers:
Application: Responsible for updating the state given a set of transactions, i.e. processing transactions.
Networking: Responsible for the propagation of transactions and consensus-related messages.
Consensus: Enables nodes to agree on the current state of the system
Outstanding Features
What Is Cosmos Trying to Achieve?
Cosmos intends to continue resolving the following Blockchain-related issues:
Scalability: While the early Blockchains have demonstrated a high level of scalability, i.e. the capacity to execute a large number of transactions per second, this remains a significant technological problem.
Ease of use: Programming apps on Blockchains is somewhat complex for developers. Among other limitations, they are restricted to a small number of programming languages and are incapable of implementing autonomous code execution.
Sovereignty: Each application is sovereign only to a certain extent. Applications are environment-dependent. For instance, if an application contains a defect, nothing can be done on the Ethereum network without governance (a good example is the parity wallet problem at the end of 2017). If the application demands a new functionality in the Ethereum virtual machine, it will be subject to the Ethereum platform’s governance.
Cosmos’ primary objective is to address the market’s lack of interoperability. The blockchain sector as a whole covers a vast array of services and functionalities. However, each blockchain presently runs independently. This erodes the market’s overall capacity to do critical activities such as advocating for more pro-crypto legislation or other critical industry changes.
Different blockchains can coexist with their own unique use cases via Cosmos. This enables developers to concentrate their efforts on enhancements rather than on marketing and other competition-related activities. Additionally, Cosmos enables various blockchains to harness the features of other platforms to enhance their utility.
Cosmos technology
Hubs and Zones
The Cosmos Hub was the first blockchain to be built on the Cosmos Network, and it was the first one to start. The hub acts as a gateway through which all the different blockchains in the network can work. The different blockchains are called “zones.”
Within Cosmos, each zone can do its own thing. Everything from verifying transactions and accounts to making and giving out new tokens is part of this, too. The Cosmos Hub lets all of the blockchains work together by keeping track of their states, so they can all work together.
The true value of these hubs, zones, and inter-blockchain communication packets is that all participants in a value transaction may obtain what they desire. All of this while retaining autonomous token models, economics, and governance mechanisms. As if each of these parties were a blockchain in its own right, the Cosmos network serves as the internet of blockchains.
Tendermint Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT)
The Tendermint BFT engine is a critical component of Cosmos’ layered architecture. It enables developers to construct blockchains without the need to write custom code.
Tendermint BFT encapsulates the consensus and networking
