Cosmos founding team described the Cosmos ecosystem as the “Internet of blockchains”. Cosmos’ goal is to develop an ecosystem of crypto networks bridged by open-source tools, which streamlines transactions between them.
What makes Cosmos (ATOM) token more unique is its customizability and interoperability features. Unlike other crypto projects that prioritize their network, Cosmos fosters an ecosystem of networks. This way information, data, and tokens can be shared programmatically with no central authority in control.
Cosmos aims to be that bridge that connects blockchains, enabling easy communication, data transfer, transactions between blockchains. The interoperability feature is what keeps the interoperation between various blockchains going and effective. Cosmos believes different blockchains can exist and grow together with their specialized use cases and benefits.
Cosmos technology does not only allow interoperability between various blockchains but also enables developers to build custom blockchains in a matter of weeks or months. A new blockchain developed on Cosmos chain is called a Zone, which is then linked to the Cosmos hub. The Cosmos hub manages the record and conditions of each Zone. Furthermore, its native token “ATOM” powers the Cosmos hub, which is a Proof-of-Stake blockchain.
In the bid to understand what is Cosmos, we will take a look at the creators of the project. Developers Jae Kwon and Ethan Buchman both founded the Cosmos network, backed by the Interchain Foundation (ICF). The ICF is a Swiss non-profit organization that majors in funding open-source blockchain projects. They helped develop and launch the Cosmos ATOM crypto in 2014.
In 2019, Jae Kwon and Buchman decided to author the Cosmos white paper and release its software. Initially, ICF launched a two-week Initial Coin Offering (ICO) of ATOM tokens in 2017, which raised about $17 million in sales. Also, in 2019, Tendermint Inc. was able to raise $9 million for the continuation of the project via a Series A round funding .
The sole aim of ATOM is the security and maintenance of the Cosmos Hub network. You can think of the ATOM token as the very pillar that supports the interoperability between all Zones (Mini-blockchains under Cosmos hub).
ATOM is bound to be more valuable than most blockchains, as more blockchains are developed within the Cosmos hub. These blockchains will have to rely on the Comos hub to manage their transaction histories and accounts.
Currently, there are no limits to the supply of ATOM. However, new ATOM tokens are created based on the volume of ATOM being staked. As of last year, this system of ATOM creation resulted in an annual inflation rate of 7% to 20%.
As of November 17, 2021, Cosmos is priced at $28.38 with a daily trading volume of $538,112,217. Currently, it is ranked #32 on CoinMarketCap, with a live market cap of $6,374,819,597. Even though it doesn’t have a max supply, Cosmos’s circulating supply is 224,710,002.54 ATOM coins.
The Tendermint Core functions with a Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus engine. BFT features a 1-second block time, which has a theoretical capability to handle the transaction volume of 10,000 TPS for 250-byte transactions.
Cosmos SDK is a technological toolset that aims to ease the process of creating secure dApps on Tendermint. Developers agree that building blockchain should be simplified to the extent that the coding required should not be more than several modules.
Inter-blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC) is paired with Tendermint to enable various chains to exchange value and data among each other. If various blockchain frameworks operate the same apps and validator set, the blockchains are bound to attain infinite theoretical scalability. The Cosmos team describes this realization as the Horizontal one.
Building on Cosmos is done in three simple steps.
1. Write Your Custom Blockchain. The first step is to write your custom blockchain. Developers do this by mixing prebuilt and custom-made modules.
2. Launch Your Brand-New Blockchain. Before launching your public main-net, you can test your MVP with users to collect feedback and redo the necessary details for improvement.
3. Connect To Other Cosmos Blockchains. Connecting the blockchain to the Cosmos Network via IBC can increase adoption and liquidity in the developed blockchain.
Cosmos is impressive and you’re probably willing to try out how it works or even build an own blockchain. Well, what about getting some ATOM tokens first? You can easily do it on Swapzone. Here’s the guide to help you out:
Need a wallet to store your ATOM tokens? Fret nor, here are some options to choose from. These are some of the popular ones:
This is one of the most popular Cosmos ATOM wallets where you can store ATOM securely. It is a multi-currency wallet, which means you can store ATOM, BTC, ETH, LTC, BNB, and many other cryptocurrencies.
This is another wallet where you can store your Cosmos ATOM crypto after you buy it from any Cosmos exchange. Mind you, it is a web-based wallet in the same form that you have MetaMask.
Another popular Cosmos ATOM wallet where you can transfer your Cosmos coins after buying them from any of the Cosmos ATOM exchanges is Trust Wallet. Here you can store Cosmos, Bitcoin, Binance Coin, Ethereum, etc.
An exchange rate is the rate at which one cryptocurrency can be exchanged for another through a certain crypto exchange provider. Cryptocurrency exchange rates on Swapzone reflect current prices of crypto assets and are updated every 30 seconds for you to keep track of any market changes and fluctuations to profit when buying the dip or going with the best exchange rate and the lowest exchange fees. All cryptocurrency exchange providers have their own rates, which depends on supply and demand, mining rewards, costs and so on. See what else might affect the rate in our article on prices.
There are two types of exchange rates aggregated by Swapzone – fixed rates and floating rates. To receive the exact amount of crypto that is displayed at the beginning of the exchange and shield yourself against the market's volatility, opt for fixed-rate offers. If you're ready to take a risk and receive less or more than the sum displayed, go with floating-rate offers but bear in mind that floating rates may drastically change any second. You can refresh your memory on how to get the best exchange rate here.
Crypto transaction fees may vary depending on the network (Ethereum transaction fees tend to spike during the congestion on the network), your chosen cryptocurrency, an instant exchange provider as well as its transaction processing speed and internal policy. These fees may be relatively low but it’s crucial to know they may be imposed in the first place.
If you want to exchange cryptocurrency with the lowest fees, beware of the offers with a grey-colored “Transaction fees are not included” label displayed under the exchange rate. To avoid having to pay an unexpected amount of fees during the exchange, opt for those that do not have that label. Read our articles to learn more about how to exchange cryptocurrency with the lowest fees and find out which assets have the lowest transaction fees.
Transactions usually take from 5 to 30 minutes to be processed, especially if you choose currencies with speedy networks. However, there are several factors that may affect and slow down the exchange process, i.e. transaction volume, blockchain capacity, network updates, cryptocurrency itself and the capacity or chosen exchange platforms.
The processing may take longer due to the large transaction volume, congestion of the network, blockchain overload and market overload, technical issues or system failures, lack of liquidity or network maintenance.
The transaction may be also stuck if you forget to add a required Extra ID, mistake networks or use the wrong wallet for a chosen crypto asset. If you worry that the exchange processing is taking too long, please, contact us at [email protected] or via our live chat on the landing page.
To exchange, buy, sell or trade cryptocurrency and store your crypto keys safely and securely, you need a crypto wallet. Choosing the best cryptocurrency wallet is a question of preference and need. To learn more, read our guide on how to choose the best cryptocurrency wallet for your needs.
There are several types of wallets for different crypto assets and tasks. Software wallets, or hot storage wallets, are connected to the Internet and come in many forms: Web, Desktop, Mobile or Browser Extensions. If you want to build a large crypto portfolio, you might want to look at multi currency wallets like Exodus, MetaMask, TrustWallet, Atomic or Guarda. If a coin or a token of your choice isn’t available there, you can always opt for a single-currency wallet that is usually designed by the project that launched the asset.
If you take safety and security matters seriously, go for hardware wallets, or cold storage wallets, like Ledger or Trezor, or even paper wallets. We strongly recommend you to do your research before creating a wallet: read the reviews to see what the community thinks, learn about the fees a particular wallet imposes for performing transactions, check out supported currencies and networks and see its security policy.
There are loads of different crypto exchange services, with new platforms emerging every month. Exchange providers differ by supported currencies, liquidity providers, fees, customer support, user interface, level of privacy and anonymity and customer support, which makes it hard for beginners to understand which one to choose. To learn more about what these exchanges offer and how you can assess them, read our guide on how to choose the best exchange platform.
To navigate them through the field full of services, we conduct research and thorough analysis of the market & list both prominent and promising exchange providers, keeping in touch with their teams 24/7. We give you all the necessary data on the offers they provide as well as their brief history, KYC/AML policies, reliability and advantages, while also indicating their downsides so that you don’t have to do that yourself.
Swapzone is an instant non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange aggregator that helps users make an informed choice when exchanging crypto assets. To make this possible, we gather the information on the exchange providers, select the parameters for comparison, aggregate and sort available deals & give an option to make a swap through providers' APIs in the same interface with a common user flow for every exchange. Still have doubts? Here's 9 reasons why you should use Swapzone to exchange crypto.
Learn how to exchange cryptocurrency with the lowest fees or zero fees as well as how to find the best crypto exchange rates and choose the safest cryptocurrency exchange provider.