Cosmos (network)
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines for companies and organizations. (April 2026) |
| Development | |
|---|---|
| White paper | Cosmos: A Network of Distributed Ledgers |
| Developer | Interchain Foundation |
| Website | |
| Website | https://cosmos.network |
Cosmos is a blockchain ledger software platform designed to enable the creation of application-specific, distributed ledgers that can communicate and transfer data across each other. The project is supported by the Interchain Foundation (Interchain Stiftung), a Swiss foundation registered in Zug, Switzerland, established in 2017 to fund open-source blockchain development, and developed by its subsidiary Cosmos Labs.
History
[edit]The Cosmos project was initiated in 2014 by Jae Kwon, who developed the Tendermint consensus algorithm. Ethan Buchman joined the project in 2015.[1] In 2016, they published the white paper "Cosmos: A Network of Distributed Ledgers", which proposed a network of independent blockchains connected through the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.[2]
In April 2017, the Interchain Foundation conducted a token sale that raised approximately $17 million.[3] The foundation is legally registered as Interchain Stiftung in the Canton of Zug, supervised by the Swiss Federal Foundation Supervisory Authority (Eidgenossische Stiftungsaufsicht).[4]
The Cosmos Hub mainnet was launched on 13 March 2019. In 2021, the IBC protocol was introduced, enabling interoperability between independent blockchains.[5][6]
In February 2022, All in Bits Inc. (operating as Tendermint Inc.) rebranded to Ignite.[7][8] In February 2023, the Tendermint Core consensus software was forked and renamed CometBFT, maintained as an open-source project.[9]
Technology
[edit]The Cosmos stack refers to a set of open-source tools and protocols for building application-specific and interoperable blockchains. It includes a modular development framework (Cosmos SDK), a consensus engine (CometBFT), interoperability protocols such as the Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC), and support for different execution environments and application-specific modules.[10] Extensions to the stack include compatibility layers such as Cosmos EVM, as well as shared security mechanisms such as Interchain Security, which allows blockchains to leverage validator sets from other networks.[11][12]
Cosmos uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism based on the CometBFT Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) engine, formerly known as Tendermint.[citation needed] The academic paper, "The latest gossip on BFT consensus" by Buchman, Kwon, and Milosevic (2018), presented the protocol's formal specification.[13][non-primary source needed] A 2025 study provided a universally composable security analysis demonstrating the protocol's resilience against strategic message-delay attacks.[2]
The Cosmos SDK is framework for building application-specific blockchains and components customization. Blockchains built with the Cosmos SDK can interoperate via the IBC protocol, which enables the exchange of data and tokens without a central intermediary.[citation needed]
Bloomberg described the Cosmos Hub in 2022 as a blockchain creation platform underlying high-profile projects.[14]
In 2022, decentralized derivatives exchange dYdX announced it would migrate from Ethereum to a dedicated Cosmos-based blockchain, with the new chain launching in October 2023.[15]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Exploring the Cosmos Blockchain | Inside the Cosmos Ecosystem". Galaxy. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- 1 2 Buchman, Ethan; Kwon, Jae; Milosevic, Zarko (2019-11-22), The latest gossip on BFT consensus, arXiv:1807.04938, retrieved 2026-04-10
- ↑ "Cosmos Health reports Q3 revenue exceeds $17 million amid US expansion". StreetInsider.com. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
- ↑ "Tab Summary - Interchain Foundation". www.fundraiso.ch. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
- ↑ Ogilvie, Tim (2021-07-24). "Ethereum, the No. 2 behind bitcoin, fights off challengers that offer cheaper and faster blockchains". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
- ↑ Fine, Caitlin G.; Furtak, Erin Marie (2025). "A Call to Reimagine Science Formative Assessment Systems Through Translanguaging". Science Education. 109 (6): 1808–1814. doi:10.1002/sce.70008. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
- ↑ "Cosmos Builder Tendermint Rebrands to 'Ignite' as Team Shifts Focus". www.coindesk.com. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ Copeland, Tim. "Tendermint changes name in light of former CEO Jae Kwon's new project". The Block. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ "CometBFT Documentation - What is CometBFT - v0.37". docs.cometbft.com. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
- ↑ Weinstein, Gary. "Reprogramming IP: Story Builds A Blockchain For The AI Era". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
- ↑ "Deploying a hybrid approach to Web3 in the AI era". MIT Technology Review. 7 January 2026. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
- ↑ "Evmos (EVMOS) Price Today, News & Live Chart | Forbes Crypto Market Data". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
- ↑ Ethan Buchman; Jae Kwon; Zarko Milosevic (2018-07-13). "The latest gossip on BFT consensus". Semantic Scholar. Allen Institute for AI. S2CID 49744920. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Blockchain Platform Cosmos Bets Its Future on a New Whitepaper". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
- ↑ "DeFi Exchange DYdX Seeks Full Decentralization as US Cracks Down". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2026-04-10.