What is the Cosmos Ecosystem?

Published in

Pundi AIFX

8 min readJun 30, 2023

A high-level summary of the Cosmos ecosystem and some of its projects (Part 2)

Previously, we talked about the building blocks of the Cosmos ecosystem, its unique architecture, and ecosystem wallets. We explored how the Tendermint consensus algorithm, the Cosmos SDK, and Inter-blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC), coupled with the ecosystem’s Hub and Zones architecture, enable builders to build truly interoperable and scalable blockchain projects that have the potential to reach the next billion blockchain users.

In part two of this month’s two-part article, we will explore and highlight a number of notable and exciting blockchain projects that are on the Cosmos ecosystem. Let’s get to it!

Notable Cosmos Projects

Osmosis

Osmosis is a blockchain built using the Cosmos SDK and it is designed to support automated market maker (AMM) applications that are cross-chain enabled through the IBC. AMMs allow traders to easily buy and sell assets — in a decentralized and permissionless manner, with liquidity pools instead of people as with traditional order books. Notably, the first application built on Osmosis is an AMM also called Osmosis; and through Osmosis, users can swap IBC-enabled tokens and provide liquidity for yield farming.

The Osmosis AMM sets itself apart from most existing AMMs by being highly customizable. Users on Osmosis can create their own custom liquidity pools, clone existing pools with an entirely different set of parameters, and even create pools with more than two assets. This allows pool participants to adapt to market conditions and even decide on the parameters which yield the best returns. Developers looking to build can also capitalize on the underlying protocol to configure a wide range of features and parameters, such as swap fees, token weights, bonding curve, to build AMMs that meet their specific needs.

The native token of Osmosis is OSMO, and holders can use OSMO to participate in governance and staking. By virtue of being built on the Cosmos ecosystem, Osmosis users are able to trade assets easily from more than 40 blockchains within Cosmos, thus making Osmosis the go-to decentralized exchange (DEX) in the ecosystem. To learn more about Osmosis in detail, click here.

Neutron

Neutron is a Zone on the Cosmos Hub designed to be a permissionless interchain smart-contract platform for DeFi projects across the Cosmos ecosystem. Neutron is built using Tendermint and the Cosmos SDK, and it features support for Cosmos WebAssembly (CosmWasm) which is natively built into the network; allowing smart contracts written in Rust, Solidity, and other programming languages to run on Cosmos blockchains. The network is also the first Cosmos-based chain to launch on Replicated Security — a new feature on the Cosmos Hub which offers advanced security to projects launching as consumer chains on the Hub.

A consumer chain is simply a Zone that leases security from a Hub; and on Neutron, this means that the entire validator set on the Cosmos Hub will help to produce blocks and validate transactions on Neutron, allowing Neutron to benefit from the same degree of security as the Cosmos Hub. In exchange, revenue is shared between the networks, and stakeholders on Cosmos Hub will receive additional revenue from Neutron on top of what they’d receive from Cosmos. Neutron features IBC support, as well as Interchain Account and Interchain Queries support, allowing any protocol that deploys on Neutron to interoperate with any IBC-enabled chain and also to execute highly complex operations such as interchain liquid staking or collateralization.

With Neutron, builders looking to build DeFi protocols have a highly secured and well-connected hub to build upon. Replicated Security on Neutron also enables projects to save on the infrastructure and resources needed to host their own set of validators for security since the Cosmos Hub provides it from its own existing validators; in turn, builders can focus more on development and productivity without concerns for security. Learn more about Neutron here.

Stargaze

Stargaze is a fully decentralized Zone for NFTs built on the Cosmos ecosystem. Stargaze features a zero gas fee NFT launchpad for creatives to sell their digital art collections, as well as its own marketplace for users to trade and stake NFTs. As a Cosmos-based protocol, Stargaze benefits from high levels of security, decentralization, transparency, and flexibility in terms of compatibility and scalability; and it can interoperate with any IBC-enabled chain, as well as EVM chains.

Like most blockchains on Cosmos, Stargaze features its own native token: STARS. The STARS token can be used for transactional fees, staking and running validator nodes on the network, and voting on governance proposals. Unlike other NFT marketplaces, Stargaze’s governance-driven development process allows rapid development and iteration needed for a consumer social protocol, in a transparent and equitable manner. The project also has a foundation which holds a strategic reserve of STARS tokens, which can be used to drive adoption, onboard creators, and even provide grants for ecosystem development.

Stargaze is one of the first NFT marketplaces to launch on Cosmos and it solves many of the problems that other NFT marketplaces face such as high centralization, lack of transparency in deployment contracts, poor security, scams, limited flexibility, high gas fees, and royalty restrictions. And this attributes to Stargaze being its own sovereign chain, having a more secured smart contract platform, being more flexible and allowing NFT projects to work closely with their communities, and having very low transaction fees which gives users more buying power and projects the freedom from transaction fee concerns. Learn more about Stargaze here.

Function X

Function X is an ecosystem built entirely on and for the blockchain. The Function X ecosystem is decentralized and it runs autonomously in perpetuity without the need for any individual or organization to supervise it. Function X allows developers to easily build dApps on the network; and also allows blockchains to be built using a subnet solution, enabling Function X based projects to inherit the network’s security, high transaction speed and low cost.

The f(x)Core blockchain underlying Function X is a Hub on the Cosmos ecosystem, and this means that f(x)Core is IBC-enabled and fully interoperable with any other blockchain on Cosmos. With the recent release of the f(x)EVM blockchain in the Hub, Function X is also EVM compatible and it is notably one of the first Cosmos-based projects to do so. With f(x)EVM, developers can migrate their dApps to Function X seamlessly and benefit from the network’s infrastructure. In addition, the network has a unique multi-chain architecture and cross-chain bridge to enable interoperability between f(x)Core, other Function X based chains, as well as all EVM chains. Users on Function X can benefit from multiple blockchain ecosystems and transfer their assets easily between them. Other notable chains that are part of the Function X Hub are the Pundi X chain and Margin X.

Function X is a Delegated Proof of Stake blockchain and it has its own native token: FX, which holders can use to participate in governance, staking, and other utilities in decentralized finance (DeFi). Function X has its own network wallet called f(x)Wallet, which is designed to optimize user experience between all chains on Function X, including those in the greater Cosmos and Ethereum ecosystems. The network features its own blockchain explorer: StarScan; and a DEX called FX Swap, which users can leverage to exchange their tokens, provide liquidity and earn staking rewards. It also has an NFT marketplace — FoxChange, which is developed by one of the network’s validators; and is running on the f(x)EVM chain.

There are many new projects launching on the Function X ecosystem, including an exciting new DeFi project: Baklava Space. With Function X, users are offered an entire infrastructure that can handle retail payments, perpetual trading, DApp and DeFi utility. Head on to Function X’s website and forum to learn more.

Aura

Aura is another ecosystem built on the Cosmos, with a focus on accelerating global NFT adoption. Aura aims to be a leader in building infrastructure for NFT use-cases, and the ecosystem is driven by an underlying blockchain tailored for NFT utility. Developers can also utilize Aura’s open-source and scalable tools to build on the Aura network and tap on the network’s high performance, security and utility especially for their NFT projects. Like other blockchains built using the Cosmos SDK, Aura is also fully interoperable with the Cosmos ecosystem and any IBC-enabled chain.

There are two native cryptocurrencies on the Aura ecosystem; Aura coin which is native to their recently released mainnet — Xstaxy, and Aura token on Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Holders of Aura coin can participate in governance and staking and DeFi utilities on the mainnet, while holders of the Aura Token can continue to trade with them on BSC or migrate them to Xstaxy. The network features a myriad of applications to enrich users’ experience on Aura, such as Coin98 Wallet, AuraScan — the networks own blockchain explorer, Pyxis Safe — a gnosis safe multi-signature wallet, and Horoscope — an interchain indexer.

The team at Aura is working to release many new applications on the network, such as a DEX, an NFT and metaverse hub, an NFT project launchpad and more. With an entire ecosystem geared towards practical NFT utility and mainstream adoption, Aura provides grounds for helping existing web2 businesses to transform to web3, and brands and IP owners to start their web3 portfolios. Learn more about Aura here.

Closing Thoughts

The Cosmos ecosystem is host to many exciting blockchain projects that are primed to onboard the next billion blockchain users. As seen across the projects mentioned in the article, interoperability, scalability, and ease-of-development are recurring themes; and these are amongst the qualities that make the Cosmos ecosystem truly unique and cutting-edge. With better security and more fluidity between all interconnect chains, the Cosmos ecosystem offers a network of unified blockchains and the foundations needed to create a true internet of blockchains.

If you’d like to know more about Function X, check out one of the links below. Thanks for reading this month’s two-part article and see you at the next one!