Cosmos launched – TechCrunch

The Cosmos network was launched last week, which, in my opinion, is a major event. Yes, it's a blockchain initiative – but certainly not another. If I am right, its repercussions will one day affect your life too, even though they are bleeding enough that these ripples probably do not strike you for a decade. Maybe five years, for a TechCrunch reader at the forefront of technology like you.

(Yes, these are bold words, but if I say it myself, my record is pretty good with that kind of thing.) The last blockchain release for which I wrote was Ethereum, which you can -being heard from since … and I was the commentator / non-specialist reporter at a time.)

This launch is an abstruse and highly technical achievement, which is currently only important for those who already live within this small and strange subculture of humanity that considers blockchains as the path to a better, decentralized future. and more equitable. (Not to be confused with the much larger number of people who see crypto-currencies as an opportunity to get rich quickly, regardless of how they look.) But it's an extremely impressive technical achievement that has every chance to become important to more people.

Cosmos is called "the Blockchains Internet", that's it, but it's also another important thing: it's one of the first large decentralized Proof-of-Stake networks to get started. (No, EOS does not count.) In this model, instead of being secured by "miners" who solve difficult computing problems at the cost of gigawatts-and-counts of electricity, blockchains are checked by " validators "who buy (or are delegated) a cryptocurrency that they" put "into play.

These validators, by name, then ensure that the transactions in the chain are valid, knowing that they will earn rewards if they are honest and accurate … but if they are dishonest, erroneous or offline, their stakes will be "reduced", that is, lose money. (At the moment, there are 100 validators, which should triple.) It has been shown, at least in theory, that even if the validators hear dishonestly, provided that at least two thirds of them remain honest, the chain remains secure. .

This is a very big problem, because the exceptional efficiency and speed of Proof-of-Stake paves the way for decentralized systems that support many applications. a lot more actions than the Proof-of-Work channels, like Bitcoin or Ethereum (today), with vast Verry much reduced ecological footprint. If Proof-of-Stake succeeds in the real world hard and cruel – a real if; its implementation is complicated and has a much larger attack surface, both social and technical, than Proof-of-Work – so blockchains will finally be able to adapt seriously, with acceptable security, without consuming a significant fraction of global electricity.

The ambitions of Cosmos however go much further. Cosmos is not conceived as just another chain of blocks. We already have more than enough. It is designed as a hub connecting other blockchains – hence "Internet blockchains". In addition, it provides tools that, in theory, make it much easier for any software engineer to create a brand new blockchain … which in turn can interact with an arbitrary number of others.

Why is it important? Because, if block strings import beyond crypto-currencies – whether they should be used for applications such as namespaces, file storage, digital collection objects, supply chains Autonomous identities and decentralized social media, desirable decentralized applications – these applications would greatly benefit from being able to interact with each other.

To a certain extent, they can already. One can perform "atomic exchanges" that negotiate Bitcoin for Zcash in one indivisible transaction. But this type of interoperability is difficult and limited by the limitations of the host chain, whatever they may be. Cosmos offers a convincing alternative vision: instead of a single "global computer" chain on which all decentralized applications are executed, it offers a lot blockchains, one for each application, talking to each other and pbading badets, collectibles, data and crypto-currencies between them, via agreed "hubs".

The actual launch of this week was the first of these, the Cosmos Hub. In principle, in the future, everyone can manage a hub. Much of Cosmos' vision remains "in principle, in the future". At the present time, no other blockchain is connected. In principle, in the future, Cosmos validators will vote for interoperability with them. (Cosmos also includes "governance" embedded in the language of blockchainers, that is, the chain vote.)

Even in this case, only certain types of blockchains, those whose architecture is similar to that of Cosmos itself – with a "quick end", can be connected via a hub. In principle, in the future, adapters for other strings, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and ZCash, can be built. This is without a doubt Cosmos a "sidechain" Bitcoin and / or a competitor / coopetiteur Lightning network, as if he did not have enough hats and had already offered enough future.

Do I seem skeptical? Not more than usual: I'm just afraid to make statements before vaporware becomes software. The Cosmos Hub, which was launched last week, is however the latter, and although I'm wrong about its possible importance in the real world, it remains a major technical achievement and important. Congratulations and congratulations to his team. It may seem to investors and speculators that we remain under the influence of a seemingly endless crypto winter; but for engineers, the launch of Cosmos is a strong sign that spring is on the way.