As with the feverish debate around Bitcoin and its carbon footprint, there has been no shortage of discussion surrounding cryptocurrencies and the energy they consume.

But this back and forth around crypto’s environmental impact is missing a glaring point. It is important to recognize that crypto is still in its very early stages, not dissimilar to where the internet was in 2002. The entire space is going through its Amazon moment. The first decade of this cryptocurrency experiment has grown far beyond anybody’s wildest expectations. At the same time, it has allowed those of us in the industry to identify what works and what doesn’t.

For example, the proof-of-work consensus algorithms (the mathematical problems that Bitcoin miners must solve) that power the Bitcoin network do indeed require a lot of energy. But what these arguments about Bitcoin’s environmental impact obscure is that the broader crypto ecosystem is in the midst of a shift towards a cleaner, greener, more sustainable future that will result in significantly lower carbon emissions.

This can be seen with the launch of Ethereum 2.0 and the move from a proof of work (PoW) consensus to a proof of stake model (PoS). PoW refers to the decentralized system that powers the Bitcoin network, with the model requiring huge amounts of energy to validate transactions and mint new tokens. But PoS allows miners to mine and validate block transactions based on the amount of coins that they hold.

Because PoS demands significantly lower hardware requirements than PoW, the energy needed to facilitate secure transactions will only continue to fall in the future. Some forecasting models show that Ethereum 2.0’s PoS model will be 99% more energy efficient than PoW models.

We are already seeing the results of what we can expect from PoS, with the Ethereum network consuming almost 100 Twh less than the Bitcoin network. Ethereum is hardly alone in this consensus revolution, with ascendant, next-generation blockchains like Cardano, Polkadot, EOS and Cosmos each implementing their own versions of PoS.

But even if we put aside these developments and focus strictly on the assertion that crypto is a threat to the planet, it is important to distinguish the sources of energy that crypto miners use, with data indicating that most of the electricity used for crypto mining comes from renewable sources.

Research from the University of Cambridge shows that the renewable share of these energy mining pools is as high as 78%. Although there are exceptions depending upon which region of the world you’re focusing on, hydroelectric power, in particular, is rapidly emerging as the de facto power source for crypto-mining operations.

Another factor to consider is that crypto miners are increasingly using excess electricity that would otherwise go to waste. The emergence of crypto mining farms has soaked up extra capacity and prevented the waste of unused renewable energy.

It is also important to note that the traditional international financial system requires significantly more energy than the Bitcoin network. All of the disparate parts that make up the whole of the global banking network – banking data centres, card network data centres, ATMs and bank branches – use a lot of energy. In fact, the traditional financial sector provides financing for some of the most environmentally damaging projects on Earth.

If we’re really looking for an ecologically destructive force, we should focus on gold mining. After all, this is an industrial sector that is heavily dependent upon fossil fuels. Even the industry’s main lobbying arm, the World Gold Council, has acknowledged the metal’s huge carbon footprint, highlighting in a recent report that the industry's emissions need to fall by 80% over the next 30 years in order to meet the Paris Climate Agreement targets.

So if we acknowledge that traditional finance and mining account for a significantly larger share of greenhouse gas emissions than crypto, the question we should be asking ourselves is how crypto and blockchain can actually lead the way and become a positive, transformative force for the energy sector, slashing operating costs and opening up a new window of transparency.

Use cases are not hard to find. Blockchain projects have already been deployed in a range of different fields, from wholesale electricity distribution and peer-to-peer energy trading to electricity data management and commodity trading.

One area that is particularly ripe for disruption is the global supply chain, in particualr the energy sector. Amidst this transition between polluting fossil fuels and a clean, renewable future, we should be looking for ways to mitigate and streamline the processes involved in extracting and transporting energy. Blockchain provides us with a platform that provides real time speed and efficiency, not to mention traceability and transparency.

The World Economic Forum has joined forces with more than 100 organizations and 20 governments to accelerate the deployment of blockchain for supply chains – responsibly, securely and inclusively.

The multistakeholder team, represents large shippers, supply chain providers and governments – including Maersk, Hitachi, Mercy Corps, Korea Customs Service, Llamasoft and Ports of Los Angeles, Oakland, Valencia and Rotterdam.

The group will co-design an open-source toolkit to guide supply chain decision-makers towards utilizing blockchain to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of the technology.

The World Economic Forum’s project, Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains, is part of our Platform for Shaping the Future of Technology Governance: Blockchain and Digital Assets.

Companies globally can join our efforts to streamline new and complex technologies like blockchain, helping to revolutionize sectors and ecosystems and build trust globally. Click here to find out more.

We’re seeing this unfold in the real world. Major Indian steel conglomerate Tata Steel is partnering with HSBC to experiment with smart contracts on the blockchain, exporting raw materials around the globe while cutting contract settlement times from a matter of weeks to a matter of days. Imagine all of the energy saved in the process.

Meanwhile, the Carbon Utility Token (CUT) is an example of a growing class of green assets designed in large part to help corporations manage their carbon allowances. The sale of each CUT token goes towards investments in carbon capture and carbon offsetting programs, representing a tangible step towards carbon neutrality in the crypto ecosystem. As more and more corporations begin to add Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to their balance sheets, it’s good to know that CUT provides an avenue to completely offset the carbon footprint behind each coin.

While there are certainly challenges ahead, crypto and blockchain have the potential to lead us towards a much greener planet, with the discussion surrounding crypto and energy stimulating us to hasten our transition to clean energy sources while providing us with the tools to do so.

Cosmos presents the blockchain industry with an alternative view on how blockchains should function, and what the best route to success might be for scalability, speed, and security to co-exist. Technically speaking, Cosmos is not a blockchain, it’s a decentralized network of individual blockchains, each powered by algorithms like the Tendermint consensus. 

Cosmos is an ecosystem of blockchains that are able to work together to scale and interoperate with each other as traditional blockchains have been siloed and unable to communicate. As a result, they have only been able to handle a small number of transactions per second. Cosmos is attempting to solve these problems with a new technology vision. 

Note that Cosmos is an open-source community project initially built by the Tendermint team. Everyone is welcome to build additional tools to enrich the developer ecosystem.

To better understand how Cosmos fits into the overall blockchain ecosystem, we need to go back to the beginning. The first blockchain was Bitcoin, a peer-to-peer digital currency created in 2008 that used a consensus mechanism known as Proof-of-Work (PoW). At the time, just two options to develop decentralized applications appeared: Fork the Bitcoin code or build on top of it. 

However, the Bitcoin codebase was very inconsistent with all three layers—networking, consensus, and application mixed together. Additionally, the Bitcoin programming language was limited and not user-friendly. Tools were needed to push things forward and allow decentralized applications to flourish. 

In 2014, Ethereum came in with a new idea for building dapps. There would be one blockchain where people would be able to deploy any kind of program. Ethereum achieved this by turning the application layer into a virtual machine called the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). 

This virtual machine was able to process programs called smart contracts that any developer could deploy to the Ethereum blockchain in a permissionless fashion. This new approach allowed thousands of developers to start building decentralized applications (dapps). However, limitations around scalability, security, and useability soon became apparent and still continue to this day.

The vision of Cosmos is to make it easier for developers to build blockchains and break the barriers down between them. This would allow these different blockchains to transact with each other creating an Internet of Blockchains. This is a vision achieved through a set of open-source tools in Tendermint, the Cosmos SDK, and the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol (IBC), and it’s designed to let people build custom, secure, scalable, and interoperable blockchain applications quickly. 

The connection between blockchains is achieved through a protocol called Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol (IBC). IBC leverages the instant finality property of Tendermint consensus to allow incompatible chains to transfer value (i.e. tokens) or data to each other.

Incompatible chains have different layers, meaning they can differ in how they implement the networking, consensus, and application parts. To be compatible with IBC, a blockchain needs only follow a few requirements, the main one being that the consensus layer must have fast finality. Proof-of-Work chains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum do not fall in this category. Ethereum 2.0 will finalize batches of blocks according to periods of time called “epochs”. The current plan is to have 32 blocks per epoch and finalize them all in one round meaning Ethereum 2.0 would be compatible once fully operational. 

IBC allows incompatible blockchains to transfer tokens and data to each other, meaning that blockchains with different applications and validator sets are interoperable. But, even with this step forward, there is still the question of how to create a network of blockchains. 

One idea is to connect each blockchain in the network with every other via direct IBC connections. The main problem with this approach is that the number of connections in the network grows quadratically with the number of blockchains and quickly escalates. To solve this, Cosmos proposes a modular architecture with two classes of blockchain: Hubs and Zones. 

Zones are regular heterogeneous blockchains and Hubs are blockchains specifically designed to connect Zones together. 

When a Zone creates an IBC connection with a Hub, it can automatically access (i.e. send to and receive from) every other Zone that is connected to it. As a result, each Zone only needs to establish a limited number of connections with a restricted set of Hubs. Hubs also prevent double-spending among Zones. This means that when a Zone receives a token from a Hub, it only needs to trust the origin Zone of this token and the Hub.

The first Hub launched in the Cosmos Network is the Cosmos Hub. The Cosmos Hub is a public Proof-of-Stake blockchain whose native staking token is called the ATOM, and where transaction fees will be payable in multiple tokens. The launch of the Hub also marks the launch of the Cosmos network.

Cosmos leverages two types of scalability and from launch in March 2019 has leveraged vertical scalability adding horizontal scaling later, once the IBC module is complete.  

Further in-depth technical details specifically for developers are linked at the end of this article. 

Cosmos makes blockchains powerful and easy to develop with Tendermint BFT and the modularity of the Cosmos SDK At the same time. It also enables blockchains to transfer value with each other through IBC and Peg-Zones, while letting them retain their sovereignty. Finally, the Cosmos solution allows blockchain applications to scale to millions of users through horizontal, and later vertical, scalability solutions.

Cosmos can be considered as an ecosystem built on a set of modular, adaptable, and interchangeable tools rather than an individual product. Developers are encouraged to join the effort to improve existing tools and create new ones.

With numerous cryptocurrencies and decentralized finances emerging across different platforms, interoperability has become a major narrative in the blockchain industry. In simple words, it has become important so that these blockchains communicate with each other. The Cosmos Network and the ATOM token have made this possible. Just as its team defines it, the Cosmos ecosystem is “an Internet of blockchains”.

In other words, this ecosystem provides developers the ability to build and deploy custom interoperable blockchains. It was launched in 2014 as a product of the Tendermint Company. The idea behind building Cosmos was similar to many other new projects at that time, which was addressing some of the problems of Bitcoin’s proof-of-work algorithm, limited scripting language, and lack of flexibility.

With an ICO in 2017, the project raised $17 million, and in 2019 the Cosmos mainnet went live.

This article explores the various elements consisting of the Cosmos Network and how Cosmos has made it simple to create bitcoin solutions. We’ll also dive deeper into some of the successful projects to come from the Cosmos blockchains.

The Cosmos Network comprises a decentralized ecosystem consisting of independent yet interoperable blockchains. However, it is not restricted to just the blockchains with Cosmos. The main objective of the Cosmos blockchain is to connect other blockchains by expanding their functionalities and improving their efficiency.

To date, more than 240 applications have been built on the Cosmos mainnet. The main categories of applications include finance, infrastructure, privacy, and social interactions.

Structurally, the network consists of interconnected blockchains running on the Tendermint Core – known as “zones”. To secure these zones, a high-performance, consistent, PBFT-like consensus engine is employed wherein strict fork-accountability guarantees hold over the behavior of malicious actors.  Created with stability in mind, the Cosmos Network allows developers to create their own interoperable blockchain in a simple and easy-to-follow format.

From an architecture standpoint, each cosmos blockchain is divided into three conceptual layers:

The first or the bottom-most layer of the Cosmos Network is the consensus engine. It powers the Proof of Stake algorithm and is known as Tendermint BFT (Byzantine Fault Tolerance). This layer holds responsibility for all the transactions and consensus-related messages within the network.

In Tendermint, nodes go through a multi-round voting process first before coming to a consensus on the contents of a block. If two-thirds of those nodes decide on a block, then the state transition logic is run which gives instant finality. 

Tendermint BFT is capable of handling thousands of transactions per second (depending on the number of validators). However, just using Tendermint consensus doesn’t mean the developers can connect to other chains to the cosmos ecosystem. They would need to fork their code to implement Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol to allow interoperability. 

Tendermint BFT is a ‘generic consensus mechanism’ which signifies that any developer building within the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem can use it.  This removes the need for developers to add protocol layers to run their application and gives them more time to focus on building the application itself.

IBC is the main breakthrough innovation of the Cosmos Ecosystem, brought in by the Stargate upgrade. It is the one tool that fulfills the vision behind the entire Cosmos Ecosystem – connecting blockchains with each other. 

IBC is a reliable and secure protocol that handles reliable transport, authentication and ordering of data across different sovereign blockchains. It can be utilized by any app that builds upon reliable and secure inter-module communication. For example, cross-chain transfer, atomic swaps, multi-chain smart contracts, data and code sharing.

Just like the simplicity and flexibility of TCP/IP allowed standard internet communication, the unique aspect of IBC is separating the application layer from the transport layer. The IBC protocol defines how data is sent and acknowledged across blockchains, however, it doesn’t define what that data is or how it is structured.

IBC is one step apart from any other interoperability solution as it does not require any other standardization in the application layer. Adding new layers will ultimately add a layer of politics which would decrease the diversity of blockchain architecture in the interoperable network. Any distributed ledger that supports IBC can independently initiate a connection to another IBC supporting ledger. Once the connection is complete, a channel of communication gets created between the two ledgers, through which IBC packets containing arbitrary data can travel back and forth.

The second, and the most active layer, is the application layer. Cosmos has its own SDK for developers, for the effortless development of new blockchains within the Cosmos ecosystem.

Cosmos SDK enables developers to deploy interoperable blockchains in 3 simple steps: 

The Cosmos SDK makes it easy for developers to translate popular programming languages like C++ and Java into a Cosmos-friendly language. This lowers the barriers for developers and allows them to use a modular framework to quickly deploy new custom blockchains.

The Modular Cosmos Hub is the key behind the interoperability of blockchains. It helps connect PoS and PoW blockchains. The peg-zone is where all transactional information and swaps are performed. These act as a middle blockchain between the two connecting chains and help in monitoring the state of other blockchains.

To transfer assets between two different chains IBC is used. It is a reliable, inter-module communication protocol that helps establish finality between two chains. 

The native crypto token of the Cosmos ecosystem is ATOM. It is worth noting that ATOM is not used across the entire blockchain ecosystem. The ATOM token’s use case is specific only to the Cosmos Hub. The several other hubs and zones (chains) within the network use their individual tokens and tokenomic formats.

ATOM is used to pay fees in the Cosmos Hub for cross-chain swaps. This fee depends on the amount of computational power required to complete the transaction. The fees need not be paid in ATOM necessarily as users may choose to pay with other tokens.

The price of ATOM token increases rapidly, meaning it is hyperinflationary with incentives for staking to secure the Cosmos Hub. Stakers receive a fraction of fees in the various currencies proportionate to the number of ATOM tokens staked.

Kava has been created using the Cosmos SDK. It is the first cross-chain Defi platform, allowing interoperable borrowing, lending, and other financial services for a range of cryptocurrencies. Kava is a non-proprietary protocol, which allows developers to seamlessly create and deploy decentralized financial applications within minutes, using its cross-chain framework and infrastructures within the platform.

Injective Protocol was a top performer of 2020. It was created by integrating Ethereum’s VDF (Verifiable Delay Function) and using the Cosmos SDK. It is the first-ever project to emerge from Binance Labs and start through the Binance Launchpad. 

Injective Protocol is the first layer 2 exchange. It has strong tokenomics and solid fundamentals for doing well in the future. 

For many smart contracts and applications to operate, an oracle is needed to bring data on and off the blockchain. Chainlink is currently the top-performing oracle, which was created on the Ethereum blockchain.

Following this, the Cosmos IBC protocol built Band Protocol – an interoperable, cross-chain decentralized oracle. It was launched through the Binance Launchpad and became the Pepsi to Chainlink’s Coca-Cola. 

The protocol can process thousands of transactions in seconds and boasts near-instant finality. 

Secret Network is a decentralized network of secret nodes that make use of trusted execution environments (TEEs). These enable secure, private computation over encrypted data. TEEs can be utilized in all types of everyday platforms such as smartphones and video game consoles. Secret Network can be used to deploy Secret Apps, governed by privacy-preserving smart contracts and written in Rust programming language.

The Secret Network blockchain is based on the Cosmos SDK. This means that the network has its own independent consensus, and slashing and delegation features. The network is secured by the coin Secret (SCRT). It must be staked by network validators and can be used for transaction fees as well as governance.

The Oasis Network is a privacy-focused smart contract platform. It is used for open finance and built using the Cosmos SDK. This project focuses on applications and use-cases that promote data privacy and user confidentiality. To achieve this, it separates the consensus layer from its contract execution layer and provides a built-in interface for connecting the two for privacy-preserving computation. The consensus layer forms a hub that utilizes a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism to secure the network and reach a consensus on transaction validity. The execution layer consists of multiple, parallel runtimes (called ParaTimes) and provides specialized computation needs that each plug into the consensus layer.

The Cosmos Network has quite a few unique selling points when it comes to development – 

With the Tendermint consensus mechanism, the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem can process thousands of transactions per second. This makes PayPal’s 193 transactions per second look modest. 

The main USP of Cosmos blockchain ecosystem is that it’s vast and diverse, with the option for developers to operate with any blockchain they wish to.

A developer with a new idea for a feature may take a while to deploy it if it was built on Ethereum. This is due to the restriction around building on another blockchain. But Cosmos doesn’t have any such restrictions, so it bypasses this issue, allowing developers to create their blockchains with an individual governance structure.

In turn, developers have the opportunity to introduce innovative features to applications in a much shorter space of time than with Ethereum.

Hitesh Malviya is the Founder of ItsBlockchain. He is one of the most early adopters of blockchain & cryptocurrency enthusiast in India. After being into space for a few years, he started IBC in 2016 to help other early adopters learn about the technology. Before IBC, Hitesh has founded 4 companies in the cyber security & IT space.

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Blockchain is an evolution, and Cosmos (ATOM) a prime example gauged by investors, eager to know the Cosmos price prediction for 2021.

Even with the launch of the first blockchain (Bitcoin) becoming an instant success, the crypto community has been yearning for more and better protocols.

This desire keeps increasing, especially with the rise of smart contracting, tokenization, and democratization of finance.

Specifically, the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) exceeding expectations and now heralding the need for interconnection between blockchain brings to the fore the necessity of enabling agents.

Subsequently, Cosmos is walking the talk and ready to achieve its core objective. The native token of the Cosmos project is ATOM, the subject of this price prediction piece.

However, ATOM’s success largely depends on the project, its ability to meet timelines, adoption speeds, and the pace of innovation.

Therefore, to better understand the various factors that may affect the Cosmos (ATOM) price prediction for 2021, users must have a thorough understanding of Cosmos.

Cosmos (ATOM) is desirous of solving a pressing problem.

Here’s what it is: Ethereum, Cardano, Bitcoin, Tron, EOS, and the list goes on, exist as islands. Their respective native tokens exist in their ecosystem, useful in, among many other things, paying fees.

In other words, a solution is needed, especially if blockchain as a disruptive and global phenomenon is to be successful.

Simply put, these walls should not exist for better interconnection and interoperability. After all, most of these smart contracting platforms like Ethereum and Tron, for instance, target the same clientele. Both have vibrant sub-sectors—Tron is famous for gaming while Ethereum is known for DeFi, and there ought to be intermingling and exchange of ideas.

In the same vein, developers of Cosmos (ATOM) are putting forth and have actualized a solution that will ultimately roll out a web of decentralized and interconnected blockchains. The benefit is that developers will have more time to improve.

Interestingly, the Cosmos (ATOM) project even allows individual blockchain to tap on others’ functionalities for improvement of their usability.

Besides, suppose the blockchain and DLT sector exists as it is, it becomes tough for legislators to create bills and even pass laws that will help the industry flourish.

In their most basic term, the Cosmos protocol is described as an “internet of blockchains.”

These individual blockchains (called zones) will be brought together for interoperability via a set of open-source tools that streamlines transactions between them.

Tethering them is the Cosmos Hub that maintains each zone’s record and is technically the first blockchain to launch. Its core is the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol (IBC).

Above all, the core objective of Cosmos is interoperability and customizability since users of each of these interconnected blockchains might have varying needs, each requiring specific fixes for seamless operations.

Right off the bat, this presents innumerable advantages for developers who are split, halted by the inability of interoperability in the current isolated blockchain system.

Notably, what sets Cosmos apart is its goal of fostering the growth of a functional, decentralized, and secure ecosystem. Herein, data and tokens are shared programmatically without third-party intervention.

Additionally, while projects are rooted, there is added flexibility of governance. Each can choose a fitting model of their choice.

At full throttle, the Cosmos protocol will comprise of three main layers:

The creators of Cosmos are Jae Kwon, Zarko Milosevic, and Ethan Buchman.

Their fundraiser—not a typical ICO, via the InterChain Foundation (ICF)—a Swiss non-profit, in April 2017 only took 29 minutes for their crowdfunding hard cap target of $17 million to be reached. After initial trials, the project’s mainnet launched in early 2019.

In the early days of Cosmos, Tendermint was in charge of development. However, the network has since decentralized with a strong team of developers behind the Cosmos Network, launching projects.

Behind the creation of the Inter-Blockchain Communication are Agoric Systems Operating Company and Tendermint.

Right from the very beginning, Jae Kwon and the team say that ATOM coins are agents enabling entry and participation in the vibrant Cosmos ecosystem. Notably, even after launch, funds were not used for marketing purposes. It is despite rumors that Binance—operating as a network validator, asked for a listing fee for ATOM support.

Priming the Cosmos blockchain is the ATOM token. The coin is distinct from the foundation and is not a utility as aforementioned.

In a Proof-of-Stake consensus, algorithm tokens are useful in staking. Validators must lock the coin for transaction validation and earning annual yields. Only the top-100 validators are eligible to secure the Cosmos network and validate transactions. Users can delegate their tokens to leading validators and earn a share of rewards.

Accordingly, the more validators, the more secure Cosmos is. This way, it becomes easier to deter spamming attacks.  It becomes economically infeasible for attackers to attempt such an attack.

Furthermore, interoperability would be futile if not for ATOM. The coin facilitates the transfer of value, sharing of information, and general tokenization operations. Holders can also participate in governance through voting.

As a result, the easiest route is to purchase the token from leading cryptocurrency exchanges for those who want to acquire ATOM. By Q1 2021, there were over 65 markets for ATOM. Most of the coin’s trading is at Binance—pairing is versus Bitcoin, ETH, USDT, and more, and Coinbase Pro—where users can purchase the token using cash.

The ATOM price was trading at around $19 in early March 2021. However, for what the project seeks to achieve and being one of the leaders advocating and laying down practical solutions, analysts are optimistic. Furthermore,  spurring demand for the interoperability coin and solidifying the bullish prognosis of the ATOM price prediction for 2021 is the launch of the IBC.

It is now easier for blockchains to link with the hub leading to higher efficiency and wholesome growth of the ecosystem. It is precisely what blockchain needs for now: A unification for stronger growth and adoption.

Advancement through unison means a more practical, transparent, beneficial, and symbiotic ecosystem of solutions useful for the ordinary and corporate user.

Using algorithms, GOV.Capital predicts the ATOM price to reach $37 by the end of the year. This is nearly double ATOM prices of early 2021.

Citing strong adoption of ATOM and the Cosmos project by the end of the year, the ATOM/USD price may nearly triple to $51 by December 2021.

The price prediction platform accesses that the lowest price ATOM could register in the future is $79. In the medium term, though, the ATOM/USD price will rise to $31. Accordingly, Cosmos is a good investment in their analysis.

Furthermore, holding to what other prediction platforms suggest, Wallet Investor’s combination of fundamentals and technical analysis forecast the ATOM price to reach $30 by the end of 2021. Wallet Investor classifies ATOM’s investment as outstanding and could reach $78 by 2026.

Away from bots relying on technical analysis, YouTubers—active crypto followers, are equally bullish.

According to Craig Beck, the ATOM price can reach $50 by the end of the year:

On the other hand, BitBoy thinks ATOM may reach $140 in the coming Bull Run, closing its gap with Polkadot:

Similarly, Crypto Bull opines that Cosmos (ATOM) is undervalued. It is a working project with a strong backing. With more demands for interoperability, ATOM prices can reach $100:

Analysts are excited about the IBC, Cosmos’ customizability, and the fact that ATOM might rise with the crypto tide. Thus, one Twitter user thinks the ATOM/USD price will reach $180 by Dec 2021:

— Crypt⭕ TN ₿lockchain ⚡ (@tn_crypto) July 12, 2020

Furthermore, with relatively fewer coins, user demands for interconnection, and Cosmos being a working project, one thinks ATOM will fall between $500 and $750 by the end of the year:

— LeBlock Chains (@LeBlockChains) February 26, 2021

Furthermore, another, in their Cosmos Price Forecast for 2021, opines that ATOM could reach $100:

— Binta Lawrence (@LawrenceBinta) January 4, 2021

In summary, this Cosmos (ATOM) price prediction for the 2021 article merges different factors and opinions from community members. Accordingly, most traders are bullish on ATOM price, given its relatively low coin circulation and the activation of the IBC.

Therefore, the increasing calls for blockchain interoperability and customization may provide tailwinds for the ATOM/USD pair. Analysts and prediction sites say the coin may reach between $40 and $150 by the end of the year.

Therefore, based on these Cosmos (ATOM) price predictions, the ATOM/USDT price could easily register anywhere from a 2X to a 5X from early 2021 rates.

Still, investors should do their due diligence and research for a clearer understanding of the project’s inner workings.

KAVA Price Prediction for 2021

Cosmos Price Adds 44% ahead of IBC Launch, ATOM/USD Aiming at $30

The long-awaited vision of the Cosmos blockchain has now been realized, as holders of the ATOM token have voted through inter-blockchain communication (IBC), enabling assets to transfer easily between blockchains.

The final vote to enable the feature was 112 million to 75, overwhelmingly in support of activation.

In the simplest terms, IBC enables messages to travel between blockchains that have implemented the standard. The most obvious use case in crypto is sending messages to transfer tokens off one chain and onto another.

“At its core, IBC is a method of securely exchanging data between two independent (sovereign) blockchains. This means that any two blockchains that support IBC can send communication back and forth in a permissionless manner,” Zarko Milosevic, chief scientist at the blockchain consultancy Informal Systems, told CoinDesk by email.

This development has the potential to open up opportunities in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, where a product on an application-specific blockchain could use an asset from a completely different chain.

For example, ATOM is the governance token for Cosmos, the blockchain built to enable IBC. “Previously, ATOM was relegated to the Cosmos Hub with regard to its utility as a governance token. It is now transferable and interoperable with all blockchains that support IBC,” Milosevic said.

One place ATOM may go: the Terra blockchain, which runs a DeFi savings account called Anchor. Terra could plug in to IBC and make ATOM one of the tokens its underlying money market will loan.

IBC was built into the Stargate upgrade enabled by the Cosmos ecosystem in February. ATOM holders, however, opted to let Stargate run a bit longer and do further testing before enabling IBC. The vote put IBC into effect on Cosmos.

There was no delay between the vote and the feature going live. “Since it is a parameter change, it does not require for the chain to be halted,” Milosevic explained.

The activation of IBC is not enough for all blockchains to work in conjunction with each other, though. IBC is a protocol that other blockchains can use, but they must upgrade to the IBC standard.

That is theoretically possible for any blockchain to do, but those built on Tendermint, the consensus model native to the Cosmos ecosystem, are likely to be the first to adopt the standard. Some of the blockchains that are built on Tendermint include Kava, Agoric, Akash, Foam and Crypto.com.

“It’s like dropping a crystal into a supersaturated solution: The pent-up need for interconnection between chains will be unleashed,” Dean Tribble, the CEO at Agoric, told CoinDesk through a spokesperson. “Some of the most interesting connections will be between chains that we have never heard of, accomplishing things not currently feasible.”

Agoric is a secure smart contracts platform. It’s not yet running in the wild, but its developers have tried IBC in tests.

Open-source cloud services provider Akash and crypto-trading app Crypto.com both told CoinDesk that each is technically ready to join IBC and should do so in a matter of weeks, pending approval by their respective token holders.

Cosmos’ funding came from a 2017 initial coin offering that raised $17 million to support a cross-blockchain future. Its war chest appreciated dramatically thanks to deft treasury management. The project had a variety of leadership changes through a rocky 2020 but carried on.

The website Cosmos-Cap estimates the combined market capitalization for the ecosystem’s blockchains at over $60 billion, led by Binance Coin, Terra, Crypto.com and Cosmos itself.

“Since IBC is modular by design, it can be easily extended to support more chains outside of the Tendermint ecosystem. For example, the modules needed to open IBC connections to the Polkadot and Kusama networks and other substrate based networks are under development,” Milosevic wrote.

Similarly, the venture fund Multicoin Capital recently released a report on one blockchain in the Cosmos ecosystem, Thorchain, a cross-chain decentralized exchange, in the same mold as DeFi staple Uniswap. Multicoin’s Tushar Jain wrote in an email to CoinDesk about Cosmos’ latest upgrade: 

“It is a huge deal. Through things like IBC and Thorchain’s bridge to non-Cosmos protocols and other bridges like Solana’s wormhole bridge, we will see the cross-chain future come to life,” Jain said.

Disclosure: Brady Dale has a very small holding of ATOM tokens.

Most of the market’s altcoins, including the likes of EOS, Ontology, and Cosmos, were flashing green at press time, with Bitcoin’s movement past the $35,000-mark giving the market a lot of bullish momentum. However, some signs suggested that EOS might not be able to sustain its momentum in the near-term.

While the market momentum has been bullishly positive for EOS off late, the resistance level at $3.12 has prevented the cryptocurrency from rising to its late-November levels. While the crypto’s price was moving north at the time of writing, a correction could see EOS fall towards the support at $2.91.

The Relative Strength Index was heading towards the overbought territory, at the time of writing. While this was bullish for the price, a reversal could be forthcoming if the index rebounds and shoots lower towards the oversold zone.

The candlesticks were trading on the upper band of the Bollinger Bands, and a potential pullback could be on the cards if the price moves south and towards the lower band.

Ontology has been rising steadily on the charts, with the crypto’s price gaining by 16.7% over the last seven days. A look at ONT’s 4-hour chart showed that the crypto’s price had scaled above the resistance levels at $0.45 and $0.50. Even though the indicators suggested more upside for ONT, a correction on the charts for Bitcoin and Ethereum in the near future could see ONT flash red.

The Chaikin Money Flow rose along with the cryptocurrency’s price and highlighted the fact that capital inflows were pushing the price beyond the aforementioned resistance levels.

The Parabolic SAR’s dotted markers were under the candlesticks, an indication that the price was bullish.

Like its counterparts EOS and ONT, Cosmos also registered positive gains on the charts, with its price up by 6% in the past 24 hours. A move higher on the charts towards the resistance level at $7.06 seemed quite possible as the indicators were bullish for the cryptocurrency. On the flip side, the price could lose steam if the next resistance level is challenged.

The MACD’s fast-moving line was gaining some ground on the Signal line, while the bars on the histogram were also rising above zero. This signaled a potential move higher.

Finally, the Awesome Oscillator’s green bars were also rising above equilibrium, a sign of the buying pressure rising in the market.

Everything you need to know about Bitcoin’s price discovery

Coinbase is experiencing connectivity issues; website and mobile app are down

A business graduate with a keen interest in emerging markets across South East Asia. As a financial journalist, he covered stocks and market reports across Australia and New Zealand as well.

Cardano, Synthetix, Cosmos Price Analysis: 13 January

EOS, Polkadot, Neo Price Analysis: 12 January

Cardano, Crypto.com Coin, Cosmos Price Analysis: 11 January

Ethereum, EOS, BAT Price Analysis: 11 January

Cardano, Cosmos, FTX Token Price Analysis: 09 January

Ethereum, EOS, Dogecoin Price Analysis: 09 January

➡️ https://t.co/mC1fIHZ010 pic.twitter.com/0Yi2A131nZ

— Binance (@binance) February 10, 2021

According to an announcement by Binance Staking, users will now be able to earn up to 24.79% APY. The locked staking service will be offered for a period of 15 days, with a maximum amount of 1000 ADA and 50 ATOM. Further, standard annualized interest rates for ADA will be 21.79%.

At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency was trading at a three year high of $0.82, with ADA rallying by over 90% over the last seven days.

Cardano’s stake pools currently offer a little over 5% in delegation rewards. In fact, earlier this year, Celsius Network had also announced that it would be adding ADA to its list of assets in Q2 of 2021.

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky confirmed the same in an AMA on 1 January, despite the fact that the amount of yield offered on ADA still remains unclear. According to some, the APY offered could be anywhere from 2.53% to 21.49%, given Celsius’s average range of interest rates. Ergo, it’s no wonder that Binance’s launch of staking for ADA with an APY of close to 25% has grabbed the attention of many in the crypto-community.

Cosmos’s native token ATOM too rallied by over 68% this week, with the same trading at $14.97, at press time. Users staking ATOM on Binance would be eligible to earn 24.79% in staking rewards too.

Interestingly, Grayscale recently incorporated five new trusts for cryptocurrency assets, according to a Delaware corporate registry filing on 27 January. Cosmos [ATOM] and Cardano [ADA] were part of these new trusts, suggesting that Grayscale might be gearing up for some new product launches in the near future.

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Samyuktha is a full-time journalist at AMBCrypto. Currently pursuing her Masters in Finance and Business Analytics, she is interested in cryptocurrencies, fintech, and blockchain technology adoption across various sectors.

Chainlink, Cosmos, Enjin Price Analysis: 24 February

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Chainlink, Aave, Cosmos Price Analysis: 22 February

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Cardano, Crypto.com Coin, Synthetix Price Analysis: 21 February

Cardano surges past $1 for the 1st time since January 2018

As cryptocurrency projects continue to advance, developers must tackle issues with scalability and useability if they want to see widespread implementation of blockchain technology. Cosmos is a unique cryptocurrency project that seeks to make blockchain projects easier to use, faster and more intuitive for developers. Our guide to Cosmos and cryptocurrency investing will help you add this unique offering to your portfolio. 

Branding itself as the “internet of blockchains,” Cosmos is a cryptocurrency blockchain project that aims to solve some of the issues that limit the widespread institution of cryptocurrencies. Some of these issues include:

The Cosmos token, ATOM, powers the functionality of the network and can be bought and sold on many major exchanges. Cosmos was launched in 2014, and quickly rose through the ranks of cryptocurrency projects thanks to its innovative structure. Cosmos is currently the 61st largest cryptocurrency when measured by total market capitalization, with a market cap of about $1.56 billion. 

The easiest way to purchase most types of cryptocurrencies is by opening an account with a cryptocurrency broker. A cryptocurrency broker is similar to a stockbroker because it will provide you with a platform that you can use to execute buy and sell orders for cryptocurrencies. As a relatively popular cryptocurrency project, you’ll have a few options when you select a broker to buy and sell Cosmos. A few of the factors you might want to compare between brokers before you open an account may include:

If you aren’t sure where to begin your search for the best cryptocurrency broker, consider a few of our favorite options below. These choices offer access to ATOM trading and are excellent options for beginners. 

eToro, headquartered in Cyprus, England and Israel, has provided forex products and other CFD derivatives to retail clients since 2007. A major eToro plus is its social trading operations, including OpenBook, which allows new clients to copy trade the platform’s best performers. Its social trading features are top notch, but eToro loses points for its lack of tradable currency pairs and underwhelming research and customer service features

Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian that offers investors access to 26 coins and tokens. Founded in the US, Gemini is expanding globally, in particular into Europe and Asia. Offerings include both major cryptocurrency projects like Bitcoin and Ethereum, and smaller altcoins like Orchid and 0x.

Gemini is 1 of the only brokers with multiple platform options based on skill level. New investors will love the streamlined interface of Gemini’s mobile and web apps, while advanced investors might appreciate all the tools that come with ActiveTrader. 

In addition to a host of platform choices, Gemini users also have access to insured hot wallets to store tokens without worrying about digital asset theft. Learn more about what Gemini can do for you in our review.

Coinbase is one of the Internet’s largest cryptocurrency trading platforms. From Bitcoin to Litecoin or Basic Attention Token to Chainlink, Coinbase makes it exceptionally simple to buy and sell major cryptocurrency pairs. 

You can even earn cryptocurrency rewards through Coinbase’s unique Coinbase Earn feature. More advanced traders will love the Coinbase Pro platform, which offers more order types and enhanced functionality.

Though Coinbase doesn’t offer the most affordable pricing or the lowest fees, its simple platform is easy enough for complete beginners to master in as little as a single trade.

After selecting a brokerage company, you’ll also want to choose a cryptocurrency wallet. A crypto wallet is a software program or piece of hardware that allows you to store your cryptocurrency off an exchange. This reduces the possibility of seeing a theft or hack harm your account.

There are 2 major types of cryptocurrency wallets: software wallets and hardware wallets. Software wallets provide you with a free method that you can use to store your investments, while hardware wallets provide you with the highest level of security. Let’s take a look at our favorite software and hardware options for Cosmos investors.  

Investors who are searching for a 1-stop-shop for all of their crypto storage needs will love the ELLIPAL Titan hardware wallet. The Titan supports 30 unique coin offerings and over 1,000 ERC-20 tokens — you’re unlikely to own a project that cannot be stored on your ELLIPAL model thanks to its universal multi-chain account system. The device uses an air-gapped and isolated network to provide you with the highest possible level of security for your investments. You can even track and manage your coins wherever you are with the ELLIPAL’s seamlessly integrated iOS and Android app.

One of the major benefits of software wallets is their flexibility — a quality that Trust Wallet fully embraces. Trust Wallet is a free app available for iOS and Android devices that allows you to store a wide variety of coins and tokens using a single app. Trust Wallet offers dApp compatibility and functionality, which can be especially useful for Ethereum developers and enthusiasts. Trust Wallet also has an integrated exchange that allows you to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in as little as 5 minutes and then transfer them directly to your wallet.  

When both your wallet and your brokerage account are open and functional, you can place an order to buy Cosmos through your broker’s trading platform. The specific process that you’ll need to go through to place an order will vary by broker, but most brokers offer a simple and straightforward process that’s similar to the process used to buy and sell shares of stock. The length of time that it will take to fill your order will vary depending on current market conditions and the type of order you use. When your broker is able to complete your order, you’ll see your investment in your brokerage account.

Sifchain, a decentralized omni-chain platform, has recently announced that it has successfully deployed a functioning bridge between the Cosmos and Ethereum networks. This development may cause the price of ATOM to rise in the future, especially along with Ethereum, as this bridge makes its coins easier to access and store safely.

When your order is complete, you’ll need to decide how you want to see a return on your investment. There are 2 major ways that cryptocurrency investors can see a profit:

If you’re thinking about taking a short-term approach to cryptocurrency investing, you’ll need a quick, comprehensive trading platform. You can start your search with a few of our favorite options below. 

The cryptocurrency market is constantly moving. Coin and token supply, market news, project announcements, government decisions and tech advancements are just a few of the many factors that can influence the price that you’ll pay for the tokens and coins you invest in. Understanding how the market is moving when you decide to invest can ensure that you end up with the most advantageous investment possible. Take a glance at our movement chart below to see how some of the biggest names in cryptocurrency are changing in value today.  

Cryptocurrency investments can add an excellent layer of diversification to any portfolio. However, remember that this sphere is still largely under development and does not enjoy the same regulations as the stock and bond markets. If you do decide to invest in ATOM or any cryptocurrency project, be sure this investment makes up only a small percentage of your overall portfolio. 

The Cosmos (ATOM) development team has finally activated the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol on the platform following a vote by members of the Cosmos ecosystem. The team says IBC fosters interoperability between Cosmos and other blockchains, while also solving scalability issues via sharding, according to a tweet on March 29, 2021.

Earlier in February 2021, the Cosmos (ATOM)  development team successfully carried out the Stargate upgrade , in a bid to pave the way for the implementation of the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol – a parameter change that would enable the network to be interoperable with other distributed ledgers.

Fast forward to March  29 and the Cosmos team says over 1500 validators and delegators in its ecosystem have signalled their support for IBC activation and IBC is now live on the platform, to make both fungible (cross-chain payments) and non-fungible token (NFT) transfers between various blockchains possible.

As stated on its Twitter thread , the activation of IBC opens up a whole new world of possibilities for blockchain applications, as blockchain networks that will integrate IBC will be able to leverage it for the execution of multi-chain smart contracts, “with logic split across blockchains,” and IBC will also usher in new security features to Cosmos.

At a time when decentralized finance (DeFi) is gradually gaining traction, with the ecosystem now worth $43.34 billion in terms of total value locked (TVL), the Cosmos team has made it clear that IBC will enable Cosmos and other projects in the Hub to start playing an active role in DeFi.

Specifically, the Gravity DEX decentralized exchange, which the team says will initially function as an automated market maker (AMM) just like Uniswap (UNI) and others, will soon go-live on Cosmos, enabling users to trade IBC-supported tokens and provide liquidity for traders.

“These tokens would arrive on the Hub through IBC-enabled chains, IBC-wrapped BTC tokens, and as well as future blockchain ecosystems that implement the IBC protocol,” the team declared.

What’s more, the team has hinted that the Cosmos Hub has experienced exponential growth since its launch, with the ecosystem now comprised of over 200 blockchains, with a combined market cap of over $60 billion, and it’s actively working on multiple cross-chain bridges including Celo-Cosmos, Ethereum-Cosmos and more.

At press time, the price of Cosmos (ATOM) is up by 3.11 percent in the past 24-hours, trading at $20.16, with a market cap of $4.27 billion, as seen on CoinMarketCap.

Although the short-term market of cryptocurrencies has welcomed the bears, the long-term market appeared to be holding strong. Altcoins like XRP, Cosmos, and VeChain have been among those alts trying to ward off the market’s bearishness. However, it will become increasingly difficult if Bitcoin’s press time trajectory continues.

XRP

XRP moved on to the seventh position on CoinMarketCap’s rankings with a market cap of $20.58 billion. The attached chart indicated that the altcoin’s price had managed to hold on above the $0.4129-support. At the time of writing, the digital asset was trading at $0.4576 as it bounced off its support level. It was moving towards the resistance at $0.5151 and may try to breach it.

The overall trend in the market was pointing towards a brief consolidation phase that XRP’s market can enter. The 50 moving average remained under the candles noting the upwards trending price. However, there wasn’t enough buying pressure as the Relative Strength Index remained at the equilibrium zone. This indicated that the buying and the selling pressures were getting evened out.

Meanwhile, the momentum in the market dropped into the negative zone, suggesting that a price swing was difficult to achieve at this time.

Cosmos [ATOM]

Cosmos’s market has been underlining a sudden surge in the value of the digital asset since the beginning of February. ATOM’s value hiked above $9.88 and peaked at $27.52. However, the altcoin saw minor corrections after the peak and was trading at $19.08, at press time.

The cryptocurrency’s price also moved within the $23 and $16-range. However, the crypto-market was indicating that the volatility had pushed the bears into the market. The Bollinger Bands were converging after a vast volatility period and due to the same, the alt’s price may move within the aforementioned range in the long-term.

Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index also affirmed that the market was going to move at the current level since the buying and the selling pressures had been equalized.

VeChain [VET]

VeChain‘s market has been noting tremendous volatility over the past few weeks. With a sudden pop in value, the crypto-asset hit the resistance level at $0.0579. However, it immediately reversed itself. At the time of writing, the crypto-asset was trading at $0.0500.

Irrespective of the market volatility, VET was showing signs that the bulls were still in charge. The 50 moving average aligned under the candles along with the markers of the Parabolic SAR indicator. These were signs of an upward trending market.

On the contrary, the Relative Strength Index remained close to the equilibrium zone, before climbing towards the oversold zone. This meant that the market’s bulls were taking care of the altcoin’s surging price.

Litecoin Price Analysis: 05 March

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Namrata is a full-time journalist at AMBCrypto covering the US and Indian market. A graduate in Mass communication, while majoring in Journalism, she writes mainly about regulations and its impact with a focus on technological advancements in the crypto space.

ATOM, the native cryptocurrency of the Cosmos blockchain protocol, has rallied by over 100% in the past week. 

Analysts are attributing the rally of ATOM to two major fundamental factors. First, in recent weeks, layer one blockchain protocols, like Avalanche (AVAX) and Polkadot (DOT) have gone through a major rerating.

Second, the utility of ATOM that enables holders of the cryptocurrency to earn through swap, gas, and transaction fees could make it more compelling for investors.

The term rerating is used in the cryptocurrency market to describe when the value of a cryptocurrency rises rapidly after stagnating for a prolonged period.

Typically, rerating occurs when the market finds that a cryptocurrency is undervalued due to fundamental reasons or a certain catalyst buoys the potential of the blockchain protocol.

Cosmos is primed for a rerating because other layer-one blockchain protocols, like Polkadot, have seen massive rallies throughout January and February.

Currently, as of Feb. 13, the valuation of Cosmos hovers at around $5 billion. In comparison, Polkadot’s valuation is at around $27 billion, more than five times higher.

More importantly, compared to other layer one blockchain protocols, Cosmos has major decentralized platforms and blockchain projects launched on top of it.

Most notably, Terra and Binance Smart Chain are both based on the Cosmos blockchain. The valuation of the two blockchain projects alone are above $22 billion.

Technically, BNB is the native token of both Binance Smart Chain and the Binance ecosystem, but nonetheless, the valuation of the two projects alone surpass that of Cosmos.

A pseudonymous DeFi investor known as “SpiderCrypto” said ATOM is undervalued compared to other blockchains. The investor said:

A pseudonymous Cosmos validator Immasssi also emphasized that the tokenomics of ATOM, which allows users to benefit from the fees generated from the Cosmos ecosystem, makes ATOM more attractive.

Similar to DeFi projects that have cash flow and a token that lets users earn through staking, the validator said ATOM holders will earn transaction fees from packets routed through the Cosmos hub. He said:

 Additionally, the long-term sentiment score for ATOM has risen significantly this year alongside Terra LUNA's, suggesting that the rerating of Cosmos may continue, particularly if the DeFi sector continues to grow.

ATOM rallied by up to 36 percent on a week-to-date timeframe as traders assessed the prospects of a major technological update on its parent blockchain Cosmos on February 18.

Dubbed as “Stargate,” the upgrade would enable Cosmos-based chains to connect using the first standardized protocol for inter-blockchain communication. With that said, chains will securely and trustlessly exchange data and token value with each other, making Cosmos the first global public ledger to achieve the mettle.

The Stargate upgrade would also introduce “Protobuf Migration” that aims to accelerate front-end development by including more transactions in Cosmos blocks, reducing gas fees, and supporting multiple programming languages.

“We expect [the] transaction throughput of the Cosmos Hub (and others that upgrade) to increase by 10x to 100x,” read the project’s official website. “This will be very important for the Cosmos Hub to handle an ever-increasing volume of cross-chain transactions. It also makes it easier on the nodes that run the network.”

Traders flocked into the ATOM market on Tuesday, anticipating that the euphoria around the Stargate upgrade would boost the cryptocurrency’s adoption among technologists and speculators alike. The cost to purchase one ATOM reached a new all-time high above $26 on Binance, up 36 percent this week and 220 percent in February.

Part of the reason is ATOM’s crucial role in running the Cosmos network.

It works as a settlement token for people who stake their assets in Cosmos liquidity pools. Meanwhile, holding it also gives them the right to introduce new proposals or vote to make fruitful changes to the Cosmos protocol. ATOM holders also benefit from the fees Cosomos generate by allowing transactions through its hubs.

— Blackbeard (@crypto_blkbeard) February 16, 2021

As the ATOM price rallies, analysts now expect the blockchain asset to refresh its record highs. Some anticipate that it would continue its push higher as more capital flows into it from Bitcoin markets, noting an imminent upside push in the highly-traded ATOM/BTC instrument.

“The higher high-higher low sequence [is] flipping resistances into support (latest at ~38k sats),” wrote Nico, an independent analyst. “[ATOM is] currently breaking above ~47k with a new spike in volume. “It is” looking good and still a long way toward ’20 highs (76k-60%).”

On the other hand, the ATOM market looks overheated at this moment, with its Relative Strength Indicator flying into an extremely overbought area. That typically leads to a consolidation trend if the fundamentals are strong or a downright bearish correction as traders dump the asset’s top.

Should the latter happen, the next downside target for ATOM/USD is near $18, based on the level’s history as a flippable support/resistance junction.

Interoperability has been a dream of the blockchain industry for years, and now, there are finally some promising solutions. The latest one is the so-called Gravity Bridge product, expected to connect Cosmos (ATOM) and Ethereum (ETH) blockchains.

The new proposal for cross-chain development was announced by a decentralized mesh internet network for rural communities, known as Althea Network. The goal is to create the Cosmos Hub by bridging the gap between two blockchains.

Cosmos blockchain is well-known for being high-speed and interoperable, while Ethereum remains the biggest development platform in the crypto industry. The project is already backed by billions of dollars in staked ATOM tokens, and it is said that it is the most efficient and secure decentralized bridge to Ethereum.

After Gravity is installed, Cosmos Hub’s validators will be able to participate directly in the bridge’s operations. The bridge is said to be extremely efficient, which is actually due to Ethereum’s smart contracts. With the contracts being optimized to use only small amounts of gas, with batched transactions — the two blockchains will be able to use the bridge for cheap and frictionless transactions.

After that, the project will aim to bring ERC-20 tokens from Ethereum to Cosmos, thus improving interoperability. The reverse will also be possible, of course. Gravity was already tested on two testnets, with the incentivized testnet expected to emerge later in Q1 2021.

The crypto and blockchain industries are developing at a rapid speed, and cross-chain bridges are integral to boost this development. Earlier blockchains attempted to be singular solutions for all of the crypto industry’s needs, which led to major speed and scalability issues.

With cross-chain bridges, every blockchain will be free to pursue its own goals while being a part of a network that will allow users to switch between different chains as per need.

When you venture into the Cosmos Ecosystem, it is not unusual for you to hear about Stargate. It is all about Internet of Blockchains, and it will be possible to prepare the integrations for the imminent Stargate upgrades on the Cosmos Hub.

Stargate recently went live because of the cosmos community of validators, developers, integrators, clients, end users and $ATOM holders.  They have all made it happen.

Stargate is all about bringing the Internet of Blockchains to life. It just looks like the Cosmos vision is coming to life.  And the internet of blockchains is sprouting the very first connections.

For more clarity, Stargate is a set of upgrades that complete the original roadmap laid out in the Cosmos Whitepaper. For the first time ever, Cosmos blockchains will be able to connect with each other using the first standardized protocol for inter-blockchain communication (IBC).

Talking about the most gas efficient Ethereum to Cosmos bridge, it is the Gravity Bridge.  There is already a documentation on how the whole system works, in an understandable way, at a medium level of detail.

For immediate clarity an extract from the document:  Gravity lets people transfer tokens from Ethereum to Cosmos and back again by locking up tokens on the Ethereum side, and minting equivalent tokens on the Cosmos side. Unlike many bridges, Gravity is completely non-custodial- you only need to trust in the security of the Cosmos chain, not some third party bridge administrators who could run off with your funds.

However, Atom holders have been warned that some disruptions might incur due to the Stargate upgrade: however, they have required holders not to worry about it.  Further, stated that the team will keep the users constantly updated. Also, stated to not share the seed phrase with anyone requiring users to stay safe.

For some cosmos users who are asking when they will update to Stargate, the answer is that most already have the update on the latest imToken v2.8.2 app. They have to state that they haven’t announced it yet.

For others:  They have been asked to update and restart the app while online and further asking for help as need be.

Tgrade is reportedly, a blockchain framework focused on regulated DeFi.  Lot of native support for DeFi happening very soon.  Tgrade being a robust smart contracting platform is expected to bring incredible utility to Cosmos and lot of value to Atom holders.

After months of development, the Cosmos (ATOM) project has launched the Stargate update, which includes the highly anticipated Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol, or IBC.

Announced on Thursday, the Stargate upgrade includes a series of improvements to the Cosmos protocol and its Software Development Kit.

The most important of Stargate’s features is IBC, the interoperability layer for Cosmos blockchains. The protocol is one of the key elements of the Cosmos vision, allowing for effortless interoperability between Cosmos SDK blockchains and other blockchain protocols. IBC allows bridging tokens and arbitrary data between all blockchains it supports, primarily those built with the Cosmos SDK. Other blockchains can also be supported, but they require case-by-case implementations.

There are a number of projects that have been built with the Cosmos SDK in the past, including Binance Chain, Kava, Terra and Secret. Before the introduction of IBC, the networks were siloed and the individual projects had to create their own bridges to connect to the wider blockchain ecosystem. Brian Kerr, CEO and co-founder of Kava, told Cointelegraph that the project spent “years of developer time and millions of dollars in investment to construct the custom bridges that exist today,” notably for the Binance ecosystem.

The launch of IBC would “accelerate the rate at which Kava can add bridges to other Cosmos-SDK chains, offer its services, and use their assets as collateral,” Kerr explained.

While IBC also supports interoperability with blockchains built on Substrate, the blockchain framework championed by Polkadot, other blockchains outside of these ecosystems will remain somewhat difficult to integrate within Cosmos.

Stargate also carries a host of other performance improvements. These include support for the Protobuf serialisation format, a more efficient mechanism for streaming data; State Sync, which allows nodes to synchronize with a Cosmos blockchain in less than 30 minutes; Automatic upgrades for the blockchains built on the SDK and improved light client security that improves IBC connection guarantees. Stargate has been in development for months, with Cosmos issuing a dedicated bug bounty to ensure its safety.

IBC is currently live on the Cosmos hub, home to its ATOM token. The hub is an important component of the Cosmos ecosystem, allowing its blockchains to communicate with each other without having to establish dedicated connections. The communication protocol is available on the Cosmos SDK, meaning that it is up to each team to roll the implementation out.

A number of DeFi applications within Cosmos would benefit from easier interoperability. With IBC, the blockchains can connect to most major DeFi ecosystems outside of Ethereum, which notably includes Binance Chain. Kerr said that “Kava is designed as an Apple store,” allowing only vetted projects to build on its platform. “While this makes Kava one of the most trusted platforms for enterprises seeking DeFi solutions, it does limit the rate at which developers can quickly deploy code and iterate on ideas,” Kerr noted. Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain provide an environment with less oversight, which makes both of them valid options for building DeFi, according to Kerr.

Other DeFi options on Cosmos include Secret Network, a privacy-centric blockchain for smart contracts, and Terra, a stablecoin-centric ecosystem. “There are hundreds of Cosmos-SDK chains that will be able to connect with IBC,” Kerr noted.