Overview of the Cosmos Ecosystem
When there are enough assets on the bridge, attackers have more motivation to attack. Therefore, cross-chain activities have a "reverse network effect," meaning that when there are few assets, it is very safe; the more assets there are, the less safe it becomes.Author: Red Army Uncle
Multi-chain, Cross-chain, Cross-chain Bridge
The first is called MultipleChain, which refers to independent public chains, such as Solana, Near, Ethereum, and Cosmos, collectively known as multi-chain.
The second is MultipleChain + Bridge (cross-chain bridge) = Cross-Chain. This means connecting various decentralized public chains through a third-party bridge to achieve cross-chain effects. Vitalik has expressed concerns about cross-chain bridges, believing that if the security of Chain A is compromised, it will affect the assets minted on Chain B.
"
When there are enough assets on the bridge, attackers have more motivation to attack. Therefore, cross-chain activities have a "reverse network effect," meaning they are very secure when there are few assets; the more assets there are, the less secure it becomes.
--- Vitalik
"
- The third is InterChain, which refers to isomorphic chains based on protocols. For example, the combination of various zones based on the IBC protocol is called multi-chain or cross-chain.
The original meaning of InterChain is between chains, and I personally understand it also has an "internal" meaning, reflecting isomorphism, which is essentially based on the standard IBC protocol.
Naturally, the context of this article refers to InterChain.
Now, let's get into the main content.
The Soul of Cosmos: Decentralization and Interoperability
"
The Internet of Blockchains
Cosmos is an ever-expanding ecosystem based on interconnected applications and services, built for a decentralized future.
--- https://cosmos.network/
"
The official Cosmos website clearly states that Cosmos is the Internet of Blockchains, built for a decentralized future, constituting an almost infinitely expandable ecosystem of interconnected apps and services.
The core principle of Cosmos is sovereign independence + interoperability. It ensures the independence of chains while allowing them to interact freely. We can consider this the fundamental philosophy of the Cosmos ecosystem. It advocates for sustainable development of organizations, each with its own discretion.
The idea of Cosmos is that the trend of blockchain scalability does not rely on a single chain, but rather that each vertical application is an independent chain, achieving the effect that sharding aims for but finds difficult to accomplish.
The Cosmos ecosystem hopes to achieve maximum composability of blockchains through decentralized collaboration, so IBC is the foundational infrastructure of the Cosmos ecosystem. With a highway that can be used collectively, the interconnectivity of the ecosystem and the innovations born from it will continue to emerge.
The level of decentralization in Cosmos can even give one the illusion of being unremarkable; for a long time, it was almost unheard of in the market, with the founder leaving (and recently returning), lacking the halo of leadership, and having a very low presence in the ecosystem. By the end of 2021, many media outlets and KOLs, when writing annual summaries, were even reluctant to mention Cosmos.
Cosmos is unique, with its philosophy, its ideas, and the structure of its core development team, making it the most prominent among L1s aside from Bitcoin.
Cosmos pursues sovereign independence and free interoperability, and the development of the ecosystem has long surpassed the expectations of its founders, also freeing itself from dependence on them.
When discussing people's views on Cosmos in the next 5-10 years, Jack Zampolin responded:
"
As an ubiquitous but unseen layer underlying digital finance. Everyone uses it but increasing few people know it. 作为一个无处不在但看不见的数字金融底层。每个人都使用它，但越来越少的人知道它。
--- Jack Zampolin
"
Cosmos Ecosystem Architecture: Strong IBC, Weak Hub
Let's first talk about the Hub that everyone is familiar with.
In past architectural diagrams, many have long thought that the Cosmos Hub is the center of the ecosystem, but this statement is incomplete.
1. Every zone is a Hub
Everyone is a zone and also a Hub. In terms of network topology, the two are equivalent, meaning they are interconnected nodes. The first two Hubs that emerged were Cosmos Hub and Iris Hub, which is merely conventional; it does not mean there are no other Hubs besides these two.
On the contrary, others are also Hubs.
However, being called a Hub has a potential implication: this Zone is relatively active, for example, Osmosis and Juno can both be called Hubs. A new, unknown chain calling itself a Hub seems a bit forced. So I jokingly say, Hub is an honorary title, because the original meaning of Hub is aggregation; if assets and applications aggregate at your place, you are the Hub.
2. Cosmos Hub is the Old Brand among Hubs.
The description of Cosmos Hub in the Cosmos blog is as follows:
"
A hub is not a kingdom, but a port city. It is not a central bank, but a settlement. It is not an internet service provider, but an exchange point. It is not an airline, but an airport. A good hub is not a ruler, but a servant leader.
-- https://blog.cosmos.network/the-cosmos-hub-is-a-port-city-5b7f2d28debf
"
I like the idea of Cosmos Hub as a "servant leader." This means knowing what to do and what not to do.
Although it was previously stated that zones and hubs are equivalent, the established Cosmos Hub naturally has inherent advantages, meaning that some particularly core capabilities are manifested on the Cosmos Hub, such as the most well-known Interchain Security (ICS). This capability can be understood as a rebalancing of the Cosmos ecosystem from previous independent security, providing rental security for new consumer chains, thereby lowering the threshold for launching new nodes. Of course, this function also weighs the long-standing criticisms regarding the value capture of the $ATOM token.
"
Note, Interchain Security: Also known as shared security, means that the consumer chain has normal nodes producing blocks and its own tokens, but network security is achieved through IBC mapping to the atoms in the Cosmos Hub, meaning that Cosmos Hub validators run two nodes, one for the Cosmos node and one for the consumer chain node.
"
Shared security has recently become an important hot topic and has received enthusiastic discussion from the community. Proposal 72 is specifically for P2P validators applying for a grant to launch three consumer chains. Their first project, Neutron, may be the first consumer chain using shared security. Meanwhile, Quicksilver is also developing consumer chains.
"
Interchain Security on the hub is pretty exciting. I hear it's so hot it's almost radioactive. 何止是热，简直是放射性的热量
--- Jack Zampolin
"
Theoretically, Quicksilver is already developing consumer chains for free, so there is no need to pay P2P validators to develop them. However, the actual situation here is more about "marketing" factors, providing a boost for this newly emerged application of cross-chain security, which can be understood as "support" for new consumer chain projects.
Regardless, the concept of shared security has gained widespread attention and discussion in the community in a short time, likely bringing significant positive changes to the landscape of Cosmos. As for the ultimate effect of shared security, it still needs to be verified through practice.
3. Minimization of Hub Functions
However, the capabilities of the Cosmos Hub basically end here, which is the point we want to express with weak hub; the Cosmos Hub does not have more new capabilities.
The most representative example is the recently passed Proposal 69, which vetoed the activation of CosmWasm on the Cosmos Hub. This was actually initiated by a vote against from founder Jae Kwon, with the core reason being: The Hub should be functionally minimized.
I believe this cautious approach is necessary for a Hub, especially an established Hub, because if the Hub encounters problems, the impact on the entire ecosystem is immeasurable, and the probability of new features bringing potential bugs is positively correlated.
This is one reason.
The second reason is that the philosophy of the Cosmos ecosystem dictates that new features should be better reflected in new zones. CosmWasm is a newly emerged powerful tool for building smart contracts, and it can be fully enabled in a new zone, such as Juno, which is based on CosmWasm.
At this stage, the minimized function of the Cosmos Hub mainly focuses on cross-chain security.
Summary: Each chain in the Cosmos ecosystem can serve as both a zone and a Hub; the Hub is both a capability and an honor. As an established Hub, shared security will empower consumer chains and $ATOM, while the overall philosophy of the ecosystem is that new features are more reflected in new zones rather than being monopolized by the Cosmos Hub, thus indirectly providing more equitable development opportunities for each zone.
Although the presence of the Hub is strong, its essence is actually weakened. On the other hand, another entity with a weak presence but actually strong is IBC; let's explore it further.
IBC, the Humble King
"
问渠那得清如许，为有源头活水来
-- Zhu Xi, "Reflections on Reading"
"
The IBC cross-chain protocol is like our human language, enabling us to communicate without barriers.
IBC, or Inter-Blockchain Communication, is the blockchain version of the TCP/IP protocol; in fact, its technical design is based on the TCP/IP protocol, serving as an important cornerstone for building the blockchain internet, a high-speed exchange channel between various cities.
from ICF
In the blockchain world before IBC, while blockchains experienced explosive growth, they were also confined to their own closed islands, unable to communicate with each other, which did not align with the trend of world development.
Today, the significant development of Cosmos ecosystem projects owes much to the IBC cross-chain protocol. The open protocol brings network effects and greater composability. The benefits of an open protocol include high practicality, high abstraction, and the ability to achieve interconnectivity without considering underlying details, simply by implementing interfaces.
It can be said that the recognition of IBC determines the height of a project's development within the Cosmos ecosystem.
The active embrace of IBC by Cosmos ecosystem projects signifies a desire to grow together with the ecosystem, while those that are not proactive in integrating IBC will gradually wither due to the lack of fresh water. In the choice between openness and closure, the landscape is clear.
The capabilities that IBC can provide include:
- Trustless. Each blockchain verifies the state of other blockchains through light clients, eliminating the need to trust relayers.
- Support for heterogeneous blockchains. IBC not only supports application chains developed based on the Cosmos SDK within the isomorphic ecosystem but can also connect with heterogeneous chains like BTC and Ethereum.
- Customization at the application layer.
- Proven technology. As seen in the map of zones, there are currently 49 zones that have joined, with IBC transfers exceeding 4 million.
Summary: I want to give all the praise to IBC; it is the foundation of Cosmos, representing openness and collaboration. It is so low-key that it is almost imperceptible, yet it shines brightly. Whenever someone asks you what the biggest highlight of the Cosmos ecosystem is, you can always say it is IBC. If Cosmos represents the universe, then I believe IBC represents light.
Who is Leading the Development of the Cosmos Ecosystem
Overall, Cosmos is very decentralized, with no specific "company" handling everything. There is the ICF foundation, which provides funding support for ecosystem projects.
The founder is Jae Kwon, who left the project for a time but has recently returned with a new project called Gnoland.
The Cosmos ecosystem will have two entities: one called NewTendermint, led by Jae Kwon, currently overseeing projects including Gnoland, Tendermint2, and Cosmos-SDK; the other entity is Ignite, led by Peng Zhong, currently focusing on projects including Ignite CLI and Emeris. This area may have some new changes since PZ just left Ignite. (Emeris is currently paused due to a lack of incentives from not issuing tokens, temporarily replaced by Crescent, a non-custodial DEX.)
Let's take a look at the development teams contributing to the core components of Cosmos: Interchain GmbH, Informal Systems, Strangelove, Iqlusion, Regen Network, Osmosis Labs, Confio, Orijtech, Hypha, Vulcanize, Iris, and more.
This is the most exciting aspect of the Cosmos culture: independent yet collaborative. Each project in the ecosystem develops independently while supporting the infrastructure, which in turn nurtures the entire ecosystem for healthy development. This is why some people feel that this is another shining ecosystem after Bitcoin. I believe the focus here is on openness.
