Cosmos (ATOM)
Internet of Blockchains — IBC protocol for cross-chain communication, Tendermint consensus.
Cosmos is an ecosystem called the "Internet of Blockchains" — a platform for building mutually compatible blockchains that communicate through the IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication) protocol.
Components:
•Cosmos Hub — central chain, ATOM is its native token
•Tendermint BFT — consensus providing fast finality (~6 seconds)
•Cosmos SDK — toolkit for rapid application-specific blockchain building
•IBC protocol — "TCP/IP for blockchains"
Examples of Cosmos ecosystem blockchains:
•Osmosis — DEX, leading in Cosmos DeFi
•dYdX — perpetual exchange, moved to Cosmos
•Celestia — modular data availability layer
•Kava, Injective, Sei, Akash
ATOM token:
•Staking on Cosmos Hub (~15-20% APY)
•Governance voting
•Used for IBC transactions
Interchain Security:
•Smaller Cosmos chains can "borrow" security from Cosmos Hub
•ATOM stakers also secure Consumer Chains
Criticism: ATOM tokenomics were inflationary by nature without sufficient utility — improved through ATOM 2.0 proposal.