Exploring the Cosmos Network Ecosystem: A Comprehensive Guide to Top Projects

10 min readMay 27, 2023

The Cosmos Network is a decentralized ecosystem designed to power the internet of blockchains where all sorts of disparate blockchains interact with each other forming a much larger decentralized network. The Cosmos Network is made up of several projects and protocols working together to build the future of Web 3.0.

Launched in March 2019, the Cosmos Blockchain Ecosystem was created by a group of seasoned blockchain experts, including Jae Kwon, Ethan Bunchman, and Zarko Milosevic.

Most people conflate the meaning of the Cosmos ecosystem with the Cosmos Hub that entails the ATOM token, but the Cosmos ecosystem is much larger than the Hub. The Cosmos Hub is actually a free, open-source application that sits on top of the Cosmos Network.

The Core Protocols of the Cosmos Network are IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication), Tendermint, and Ethermint. Apart from these core protocols, there are many projects built on top of the network, making up the entire ecosystem.

Overview of Cosmos Network’s Growth and Expansion

Since its launch, the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem has achieved several significant milestones.

In May 2019, Cosmos Hub 1 was launched, which allowed for the transfer of ATOM tokens between different blockchain networks. In November 2019, Cosmos upgraded to its Game of Stakes version, a testnet that allowed validators to engage in competitive staking.

In 2020, the Cosmos ecosystem saw major developments with the launch of Cosmos Hub 3 and the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, which allows different blockchains to communicate and exchange data more easily.

Cosmos also saw an increase in popularity, with its native token, ATOM, rising to become one of the top 50 cryptocurrencies on the market by market cap.

In 2021, the Cosmos ecosystem continued to grow with the launch of Stargate Upgrade, which introduced support for new programming languages and increased network-wide transaction throughput.

Cosmos also features its first decentralized exchange, Osmosis, which was founded by Osmosis Labs and built on top of the Cosmos Hub, thus allowing for the exchange of tokens between different blockchain networks.

Today, the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem is recognized as a key player in the blockchain industry, providing a platform for interoperable and scalable blockchain solutions.

Here is a look at some of the top projects, businesses, and organizations in the Cosmos ecosystem.

Projects in the Cosmos Ecosystem:

Injective

The past year has seen Injective’s ecosystem grow at an astounding pace reaching new milestones such as achieving over 140 million transactions with the fastest block time in crypto history.

Injective is a decentralized trading platform that allows users to trade a wide range of digital assets. While you can only trade Ethereum-based assets on a decentralized exchange such as Uniswap, Injective allows users to trade Ethereum-based assets as well as tokens from other blockchains that are compatible with the Cosmos Network.

In addition, Injective also provides a suite of advanced trading tools such as derivatives, margin trading, and algorithmic trading that enable users to optimize their trading strategies while using the DEX. Most DEXs today lack the sophistication that comes with advanced but centralized trading platforms. Injective is changing the narrative.

Plus, if you are a developer on the Ethereum blockchain, you can easily switch to using Injective in creating and deploying your own decentralized financial applications easily thanks to its Cosmos-powered interoperability.

Built on top of the Cosmos SDK, Injective is the first application in the Cosmos ecosystem to offer auto-executing smart contracts, which empower faster, more innovative, and groundbreaking applications.

Cronos

Cronos is a blockchain that connects Ethereum and the Cosmos ecosystem. It features a native coin called Cronos (CRO) and is designed by CRO Protocol which is the same company backing Crypto.com (a crypto exchange). The company was formerly known as Monaco but later rebranded in 2018 to Crypto.com.

At its core, Cronos provides developers with an easy way to build decentralized applications (dApps) on the Cosmos Network using Solidity-based smart contracts. By creating a bridge between the Ethereum ecosystem which is currently the largest dApp platform in the world, and Cosmos, Cronos is further advancing interoperability in the blockchain space.

Apart from interoperability, Cronos also offers scalability as it is based on Cosmos SDK. Cosmos SDK is a revolutionary tool kit for building blockchain applications using the Go programming language. The SDK offers a modular, secure, and fully customizable architecture, making it easy for developers to build complex blockchains.

With its powerful Tendermint-based consensus algorithm, the SDK offers reliable and secure transactions that can be processed at lightning speeds, making it possible to build high-performance blockchain solutions.

Also, thanks to the fact that Cronos is built to be easily compatible with any EVM chain, developers will have an easy time creating decentralized applications that interact with other EVM-based blockchains.

Overall, the aim of Cronos is to create a world where developers can create stand-alone, scalable blockchains for specific applications without needing to fork an existing blockchain platform. Therefore, through an exchange such as Crypto.com, Cronos (CRO) users can set up payments, among other financial services, with ease.

Band Protocol

Band Protocol is a decentralized oracle that provides real-world data to smart contracts and APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) on the Cosmos Network.

Oracles are critical to the functioning of blockchain applications because they allow blockchains to access data from outside the blockchain system. For instance, an oracle can be used to provide data on the spot price of a commodity or the temperature in a certain city. Therefore, that blockchain will have to use an oracle such as Band Protocol to obtain that data.

With the help of a decentralized oracle, blockchain applications are able to provide more real-world use cases and improve the scalability of their systems. Therefore, thanks to data from the external world, smart contracts on Blockchains can trigger certain actions without relying on a centralized entity.

Band Protocol also provides high-level security as it is built on Cosmos SDK and Tendermint BFT consensus protocol.

At the moment, Band Protocol is the most prominent decentralized oracle protocol in the Cosmos ecosystem, providing access to real-time data from several sources, including web APIs, off-chain databases, and traditional financial markets. This helps developers create sophisticated applications that require reliable, accurate data.

Band Protocol’s unique selling point is in how it provides reliable data from multiple sources and also verifies the reliability of these sources by scoring them. This makes applications built on Band Protocol highly secure, as they get their information from a decentralized network instead of relying on a single source of truth that may be biased or inaccurate.

Moreover, Band Protocol allows developers to build their own custom oracles, which can be integrated into their existing applications. This provides developers with an added layer of security, as the oracles they build are completely decentralized. This makes their dApps less likely to be compromised compared to a centralized data source that is easily manipulated.

What’s more, Band Protocol uses a delegated proof of stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism to secure its network, which makes it more scalable and energy efficient.

Simply put, Band Protocol is an important component of the Cosmos Network that enables developers to create more reliable and secure applications on top of it.

Gravity Bridge

There are all sorts of digital assets built on the blockchain ranging from cryptocurrency to NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and smart contracts. However, the problem is that these assets are usually confined to one blockchain network and cannot be used outside of that network.

This is where Bridge comes into play. Built on top of Cosmos SDK, Gravity allows users to move digital assets between disparate blockchains with ease.

It operates as a decentralized bridge on the Cosmos Network that enables cross-chain communication between different blockchain networks. This Bridge allows users to move digital assets between different blockchains, making it easier to build more complex and sophisticated blockchain applications that are interoperable.

The Gravity Bridge is unique because it uses a novel consensus mechanism called Proof of Authority (PoA) to secure its network, which makes it more reliable and efficient. A Proof of Authority consensus protocol such as Gravity Bridge is more secure because it allows validators to reach a consensus without having to run a lottery-based algorithm.

Gravity Bridge also has built-in fraud detection mechanisms, which help reduce the risk of malicious actors taking advantage of the Bridge. With Gravity Bridge, developers can build complex applications that are interoperable across different blockchain networks with greater reliability.

Coreum

Coreum is a new blockchain that wants to help solve real-world problems in a big way. It encourages more transactions by offering discounts on fees, which is a big incentive for enterprise-grade blockchain applications looking to build a decentralized exchange on Coreum.

Coreum can be used for any enterprise-grade blockchain as it is built using some of the latest and most robust technology from the blockchain world, including Tendermint and CosmosSDK. This technology makes sure that Coreum is fast, secure, and energy-efficient.

One of the best things about Coreum is that it is interoperable, meaning it can talk to other blockchains, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more. This makes it super easy for any user to move their digital assets from one blockchain to another. Coreum makes this possible thanks to a protocol on Cosmos SDKs called IBC.

Overall, Coreum is made possible thanks to the Cosmos ecosystem and is a great choice for any enterprise-grade blockchain application. The combination of the Tendermint consensus mechanism and the Cosmos SDK’s tooling and modules makes Coreum a powerful solution for blockchain developers.

Conclusion

The Cosmos Network is a dynamic and rapidly expanding ecosystem that offers endless possibilities for developers, investors, and users. With its unique architecture and innovative projects like Injective, Cronos, Band Protocol, and the Gravity Bridge, the Cosmos Network is poised to become a leading player in the blockchain industry.

Despite the fact that the Cosmos Network has struggled with scalability in the past, recent Cosmos Hub upgrades have introduced new capabilities, such as improved delegator experience and governance enforcement.

As the trend towards more decentralized applications continues to pick up speed, more people interested in the crypto ecosystem will have easy access to dApps.

Looking towards the future, the potential for the Cosmos ecosystem is vast. The continued expansion of dApps built on the network, along with the development of new bridges, will create a more robust and connected ecosystem.

How Ubik Capital Facilitates Staking and Delegation

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If you’re interested in staking your coins with Ubik Capital, you can check out some of their top guides on how to do so:

Proof of Stake is an increasingly popular consensus algorithm, especially with Ethereum’s transition into PoS. There are many variations of a PoS consensus algorithm; however, with this guide, you should understand how it generally works.

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About Ubik Capital

Capital is a Proof-of-Stake service provider, validator, and investor. Ubik Capital provides staking-as-a-service as well as investments to various blockchain projects. Ubik Capital secures major networks and is a trusted staking provider with years of industry experience.

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Disclaimer: Not financial advice. Cryptocurrency and blockchain investments are high risk, can incur substantial losses, and are not suitable for everyone. Please consult a professional before considering investment in any cryptocurrency. This article does not encourage or support any specific investments, use of applications or technology, or financial direction. This article is for informational purposes only and should be verified and validated externally for 100% accuracy.