Directing itself as the project that solves the hardest problems faced by the proof of work protocols that are slow, expensive, unscalable, and environmentally harmful is designed to address scalability, sovereignty, and usability experienced in other blockchains.
Comprising of many independent blockchains called zones creating an “internet of blockchains” that can communicate with each other in a decentralised system and enable developers to build both permissionless and permissioned blockchains.
The zones are powered by Tendermint Core, which provides a high-performance, consistent, secure PBFT-like consensus engine, where strict fork-accountability guarantees hold over the behaviour of malicious actors. Tendermint Core’s BFT consensus algorithm is well suited for scaling public proof-of-stake blockchains.
The network launched with the release of its first blockchain, the Cosmos Hub, in 2019.
The Cosmos Hub is a multi-asset proof-of-stake cryptocurrency with a simple governance mechanism that enables the network to adapt and upgrade. In addition, the Cosmos Hub can be extended by connecting other zones.
The hub and zones of the Cosmos network communicate with each other via an inter-blockchain communication (IBC) protocol, a kind of virtual UDP or TCP for blockchains. Tokens can be transferred from one zone to another securely and quickly without the need for exchange liquidity between zones. Instead, all inter-zone token transfers go through the Cosmos Hub, which keeps track of each zone's total amount of tokens. The hub isolates each zone from the failure of other zones.
Tendermint was founded in 2014 by Jae Kwon, who developed his own byzantine fault-tolerant (BFT) consensus mechanism earlier that year and started the company to develop business opportunities related to the algorithm.
In 2017, the Interchain Foundation, a Swiss non-profit that funds open-source blockchain projects, contracted for-profit Tendermint, Inc. to develop and launch the Cosmos ATOM software.
The co-founders of Tendermint — the gateway to the Cosmos ecosystem — were Jae Kwon, Zarko Milosevic and Ethan Buchman. Although Kwon is still listed as principal architect, he stepped down as CEO in 2020.
He maintains he is still a part of the project but is mainly focusing on other initiatives. He has now been replaced as Tendermint’s CEO by Peng Zhong, and the whole board of directors was given quite a substantial refresh. Their goals include enhancing the experience for developers, creating an enthusiastic community for Cosmos, and building educational resources so greater numbers of people are aware of what this network is capable of.