Cosmos STORIES AROUND THE WEB
#ATOM Price, Data, History and Stories | HackerNoonAll +/- % changes are for a 24 hour window
Price
$6.53+5.29%
Market Cap
$2,553,269,560+7.18%
Trading Volume
340,400,321.053+4.39
Circulating Supply
390,934,204.000
**Cosmos is a network of __[interconnected blockchains](https://hackernoon.com/how-tendermint-cosmos-and-sifchain-form-the-next-generation-of-blockchains)__ that communicate and work together to create a better experience for developers and users of the __[blockchain](https://hackernoon.com/wtf-is-the-blockchain-1da89ba19348)__. ATOM is the __[governance token](https://hackernoon.com/decentralized-governance-and-governance-tokens-tx193207)__ that helps keep the Cosmos network secure.**
## **History of Cosmos**
**Jae Kwon and Ethan Buchman cofounded Tendermint in 2014. Tendermint was the consensus algorithm that went on to power Cosmos. Kwon and Buchman co-authored the Cosmos white paper and released the software in 2016.**
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**A Swiss non profit known as The Interchain Foundation is the organization that helped in the development and launch of Cosmos. In 2017, The Interchain Foundation carried out a two week offering of the ATOM token, raising over $17 million. Tendermint later raised $9 million to continue developing the project in 2019.**
## **Cosmos Biggest Claim to Fame**
**Cosmos offers developers an opportunity to build application specific blockchains which can interconnect easily. This gives Cosmos a leg up from the other leading blockchains which force developers to exist as __[smart contracts](https://hackernoon.com/smart-contracts-an-overview-q52t34pb)__ on their blockchains. Cosmos allows for interconnection between blockchains instead of several blockchain applications competing on a single base layer.**
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**Several well known and well respected apps and services are running on the Cosmos network. Several well known __[cryptocurrency](https://hackernoon.com/whats-a-crypto-currency-really-is-fa93a3efadb4)__ projects have been built using Cosmos including the Binance Chain (BNB), __[Terra](https://hackernoon.com/introduction-terra-its-goals-and-its-origins)__ (LUNA), and Crypto.com Coin (CRO).**
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**Cosmos offers the solutions to a problem all crypto has faced. The problem of slow transactions and bottlenecks whenever there is a large number of transactions has not been solved. But with the technology Cosmos offers, transaction speeds within the blockchain and the problem of bottlenecks can be solved. The technology will allow for faster and more efficient transactions.**
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**The cost of Cosmos and its currency has increased with the launch of its __[decentralized finance](https://hackernoon.com/bringing-defi-to-cosmos-how-the-gravity-dex-protocol-came-to-be)__ interface. The price has also increased with the company's integration with __[ethereum](https://hackernoon.com/understanding-ethereum-a-complete-guide-6f32ea8f5888)__, which hosts most of the __[decentralized finance applications](https://hackernoon.com/defi-explained-the-guide-to-decentralized-finance-ji1s35on)__, and also with the __[interoperability](https://hackernoon.com/interoperability-and-why-its-important-for-the-blockchain-space)__ between Cosmos and __[Bitcoin](https://hackernoon.com/this-time-is-different-part-2-what-bitcoin-really-is-ae58c69b3bf0)__.**
## **Criticism of Cosmos**
**Investor confidence is low due to the lack of official regulation. The lack of regulation means that the environment to invest in Cosmos is considered unstable and undependable, which is something investors would not like to risk. The regulators worry that crypto products such as Cosmos work as traditional banks do but without the same consumer protections that traditional banks have.**
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**There are other platforms that offer the same blockchain advantages as Cosmos does but have higher returns. Crypto is a competitive market and the idea behind Cosmos is not entirely unique so investors consider giving other better performing markets their investments.**
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**The problem of interoperability, which is the potential future gain making plan for Cosmos if they can get it fully operational, could be solved by another crypto before Cosmos fully solves it. This will inevitably cause the price of Cosmos to go down since that is the main idea behind Cosmos. __[Blockchain technology](https://hackernoon.com/blockchain-technology-explained-introduction-meaning-and-applications-edbd6759a2b2)__ is growing fast and the newer cryptocurrency may phase out the current cryptocurrency with newer and more integrated technology.**
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**There is worry that the rising prices of the Cosmos crypto is due to the value of both Cosmos and ATOM being pumped out by the market in order for the major investors to get short term profit. It is impossible to confirm or deny whether the claim is true which causes investors to be weary of the currency.**
## **The Cosmos Team**
**Jae Kwon is the cofounder of Tendermint and is the president of the Interchain Foundation. He worked as a developer in Silicon Valley after his graduation in 2005, working on apps such as Alexa and Yelp. He together with Ethan Buchaman and Zarko Milosevik created the Tendermint Consensus algorithm and implementation which aimed to liberate the blockchain from the drawbacks of proof of work mining.**
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**Ethan Buchman is the co-founder of Tendermint and Cosmos. He is the chief technical director of the Interchain Foundation. He started his career as a core developer for Eris Industries in 2014. He joined the Interchain Foundation in 2017 and has been the technical director since 2019.**
## **In conclusion**
**Blockchain technology needs networks that can handle a large number of transactions simultaneously without compromising the speed of the transaction. Cosmos allows for blockchain projects to be created that can handle high transaction volumes through its development process. Cosmos has long term potential and its mission seems to position it to withstand the test of time. However, it is still a high risk investment with the possibility of failure.**
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**__[Read more cosmos stories on HackerNoon](https://hackernoon.com/tagged/cosmos)__**