What Is Cosmos (ATOM)?

The Cosmos (ATOM) network is an ecosystem of blockchains that can scale and interoperate. Cosmos seeks to create an Internet of Blockchains through which blockchains can maintain sovereignty, interact with other blockchains in the ecosystem, and process transactions quickly–making it optimal for multiple use cases. The network functions using BFT consensus algorithms along with Tendermint consensus, which is used to power each blockchain in the Cosmos. Tendermint BFT is a proof-of-stake consensus protocol that powers the Cosmos Hub and the Cosmos SDK (software development kit). BFT (Byzantine fault tolerance) is a consensus algorithm of a distributed network that reaches consensus even when some of the network’s nodes respond with incorrect information or fail to respond. 

The Cosmos SDK is an open-source framework that aims to build multi-asset public proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains. The Cosmos Hub is a blockchain that serves as the economic center of the Cosmos platform. The Cosmos Hub aims to provide interchain token exchange, interchain security, bridges to ETH and BTC, and interchain token custodianship. 

According to the Cosmos whitepaper, blockchains are isolated and cannot communicate. They are hard to build and cannot handle a small number of transactions per second. Following this, Cosmos caters to three problems in the blockchain: sovereignty, scalability, and sustainability. 

1. Sovereignty: On blockchains, all the economic activity takes place on a single chain. This leads to centralized governance, ongoing costs for smart contract developers, and high fees for users of congested chains. To solve this problem, Cosmos SDK aims to be free for developers to build sovereign blockchain apps without ongoing costs.

2. Scalability: Cosmos aims to allow blockchain applications to scale to millions of users through horizontal and vertical scalability solutions. Cosmos seeks to achieve scalability by duplicating a blockchain to relieve congestion or splitting up the apps into multiple application-specific blockchains. Interchain token transfers allow these multiple chains to continue as one network. Also, developers can improve throughput with horizontal scalability (multiple parallel chains running the same application and operated by a common validator set).

3. Sustainability: Cosmos blockchains use an efficient proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm for securing the network. This PoS algorithm reduces the Cosmos carbon footprint by more than 99% compared to proof-of-work blockchains.

ATOM is the primary token of the Cosmos Hub and aims to secure the Hub’s interchain services. ATOM has three use cases on the platform.

1. As a spam prevention mechanism, the token is used to pay fees. The fee amount may be proportional to the computation required by the transaction.

2. As staking tokens, ATOM can be "bonded" to earn block rewards. Cosmos Hub’s economic security depends on the amount of ATOM staked. With more tokens collateralized, more shares are at stake, and the cost of attacking the network is higher. Thus, with more bonded ATOM, the network has greater economic security.

3. ATOM holders may govern the Cosmos Hub with their staked ATOM by voting on the proposals.

History of Cosmos (ATOM)

In 2014, Jae Kwon applied Byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) research in a proof-of-stake (PoS) public blockchain context and founded Tendermint Inc. In 2015, Ethan Buchman joined Jae Kwon in developing Tendermint. Tendermint started the initial software development, and in 2016, Cosmos turned into a reality. Cosmos Hub was launched on March 13, 2019.

The Interchain Foundation (ICF) supports the development of Cosmos. ICF is a Swiss non-profit foundation formed to support Cosmos development and the ecosystem contributing to the Cosmos Network. Cosmosis built by 15+ companies. 

How Are New Cosmos (ATOM) Created & Earned?

ATOM is effectively locked up for an indefinite period upon staking ATOM. While delegated, ATOM cannot be transferred as guaranteed by the protocol. Delegating is a process wherein the validator’s status and weight are established based on its amount of voting power. Voting power is obtained upon locking ATOM in the staking process and must be granted to a validator. However, the user can trigger the process to unlock their staked ATOM by using the wallet of their choice. This process is called "undelegating." The undelegate process takes 21 days for ATOM to be transferable again after the transaction to undelegate has been sent.

On the platform, staking rewards are generated and distributed to staked ATOM holders in two ways:

1. Transaction fees: Transaction fees collected on the Cosmos Hub are distributed to staked ATOM holders.

2. Newly created ATOM: The token's total supply is inflated to reward the token stakers. The token holders that do not stake do not receive rewards, diluting their ATOM over time.

You can earn rewards by staking ATOM via Coinbase.

How to Buy Cosmos (ATOM)

Cosmos (ATOM) can be traded on Coinbase.