Run secure, fully managed node clusters and earn participatory rewards
Access blockchain data with secure read/write infrastructure to build robust applications
Stake your tokens with Bison Trails’ non-custodial public validators
Participate with confidence based on Bison Trails’ expertise and experience with Cosmos and other Tendermint-based chains. We were active community members in the Cosmos Gaia testnet for over a year before its mainnet launch, and are committed to supporting Cosmos and its vision of creating the internet of blockchains.
Cosmos is a decentralized network of independent parallel blockchains. Cosmos aims to make it easy for teams to custom-build new blockchains that are highly interoperable with others in the Tendermint ecosystem. Due to this interoperability, the chains can easily and securely transfer assets and arbitrary data between one another with low transaction fees and fast speeds. Cosmos launched with Cosmos Hub, the first blockchain in the ecosystem, in 2019.
The protocol’s goal is to increase adoption and liquidity by breaking down the barriers between blockchain economies, creating a so-called internet of blockchains that can communicate swiftly and directly with one another while maintaining their own sovereignty.
The Stargate upgrade enables the hub and zone architecture within the Tendermint ecosystem by turning on the functionality of the IBC protocol. Following Stargate’s implementation, blockchains within the ecosystem can opt in to utilizing the IBC to connect to one another, and can connect to the Cosmos Hub blockchain to interoperate.
ATOM is the native token of Cosmos, used by validators in the Cosmos to secure the network and earn rewards in return. ATOM are also used in the Cosmos Hub to pay for transaction fees.
The Tendermint Core consensus engine is one of Cosmos’ key building blocks. Tendermint is software for securely and consistently replicating an application on many machines, and Tendermint Core is Tendermint’s consensus layer application. A consensus layer provides the outline for how nodes come to agreement on the state of their blockchain, and the use of Tendermint Core supports Cosmos’ interoperability in two ways.
First, by using Tendermint Core as its consensus layer, Cosmos simplifies the development of new blockchains within the ecosystem by removing the need for developers to build a consensus layer for their blockchain from the ground up. Additionally, Tendermint Core supports state machines written in any programming language and also supports either proof of stake or proof of authority protocols, allowing for diverse blockchains to be built within Cosmos using Tendermint as their consensus layer.
Tendermint also enables a high transaction throughput in the Cosmos ecosystem, and its instant finality consensus mechanism means that transactions are finalized as soon as blocks are created and that they cannot be changed. Tendermint also ensures resiliency due to its Byzantine Fault Tolerant design—it can continue to operate and come to consensus even when up to one-third of participating nodes fail to communicate or act maliciously.
The independent blockchains within the Cosmos network are typically built using the Cosmos Software Development Kit (SDK), an open source framework for building custom public (PoS) and permissioned (PoA) sovereign blockchains on top of the Tendermint Core consensus engine. The Cosmos SDK is a middleware design framework with modular components that are designed to function seamlessly within the Cosmos ecosystem.
The Cosmos SDK framework allows developers to create customized blockchains via the use of modules, either by creating new modules or integrating ones that have already been built. Blockchains built with the Cosmos SDK are often referred to as application-specific blockchains. By using the Cosmos SDK, developers can build a custom blockchain to support their own decentralized application (dApp) within the Tendermint ecosystem, which enables them more flexibility in the build and governance of the dApp, enabling for more customized use cases.
These application-specific blockchains ensure a higher level of sovereignty for the application’s stakeholders, as the stakeholders control the governance and validation of the chain underlying their application.
The blockchains within the Cosmos network communicate using the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) Protocol. The IBC Protocol allows for communication between blockchains with compatible consensus standards (i.e. that all use Tendermint as their consensus layer) without needing special permissions to do so.
IBC formalizes the light client mechanism, allowing the blockchains to act as light clients on each others’ networks, reading each others’ states and interoperating without the need to function as full nodes or to store each others’ full states.
Cosmos is the proof of stake protocol underlying the inter-chain transfer of assets within the Tendermint ecosystem, also tracking the state of the interconnected blockchains. The active set is made up of the 125 validators with voting power determined by the amount of ATOM staked, either self-bonded or via delegation. Active validators are eligible to complete work on the chain and earn rewards. Currently, the minimum stake to be part of the active set is 14k ATOM.
The minimum self-bond for a validator is 1 ATOM; the minimum can only be increased by the SDK validator parameters governing the independent blockchains in the ecosystem. If a validator falls below the minimum self-bond, all of its delegators automatically unbond as a protective mechanism.
Delegation further secures and expands the decentralization of the network. Any ATOM holder can delegate to a validator and will be charged a fee determined by the validator. Fees range from 0-100% of total rewards earned by the delegator, depending on the validator’s goals and capacity. A validator also specifies the maximum rate of change in delegator fee per day (e.g., setting 1% means the validator can increase or decrease their fee by 1% per day). There is a 21 day unbonding period for delegation, during which time the unbonding ATOM does not earn rewards but is eligible for losses due to slashing. Delegators also have voting rights within the protool’s governance.
The current annual reward rate for Comos Hub is 8-10%. The rewards rate is calculated by dividing the network’s current inflation rate by the ratio of staked ATOMs in circulation. The protocol’s inflation rate is based on a target of 67% of all ATOMs being staked, with inflation increasing as the percentage of staked ATOMs drops below 67% and the rate decreasing as it rises above. Inflation is a minimum of 7% and a maximum of 20% per year.
Staked ATOM holders can submit development proposals, vote, and generally participate in on-chain governance in Cosmos; each staked ATOM counts as one vote. Delegators inherit the vote of the validator they are delegated to unless they submit their own vote, which overrides their validator’s vote.
Within two weeks of a development proposal submission a minimum of 512 ATOM must be deposited to the proposal, which shows support for the proposal and reduces spam. The ATOM may be submitted by the proposer or by any other token holder and are returned when the proposal is either accepted or fails to reach the initial minimum deposit.
If the proposal is accepted it will be implemented as part of the network’s software.
Cosmos is a decentralized network of independent parallel blockchains.
Secure Participation in Cosmos, the Internet of Blockchains Bison Trails enables participation in the Cosmos ecosystem with industry leading, enterprise-grade security
Bison Trails now powering ZKValidator across Cosmos, Polkadot, Kusama, and NEAR Bison Trails enables ZKValidator to run a community-focused Staking as a Service to promote privacy research and participate in governance on emerging PoS networks
