In this article we're going to explore the Cosmos Hub's path towards becoming the best place in crypto to launch a chain.

TLDR;
- Interchain Security v1 vs. v2
- The Cosmos Hub Elevator Pitch
- Launchpad Services
- The Hub's End Game
- Rollups & Mega Blocks

Interchain Security (ICS) v1

ICS v1, aka Replicated Security, was arguably the first generalized restaking protocol in crypto. It allows consumer chains (AVSs in the case of Eigenlayer) to obtain the full security of the Cosmos Hub, as the Hub validators also secure and validate consumer chain.

Stride and Neutron were the first two Appchains to opt into ICS v1, becoming fully secured and aligned with the Cosmos Hub. Both were good fits for ICS v1, since they're well established and relative large L1 chains that needed to increase their security.

Interchain Security (ICS) v2

ICS v2, aka Partial Set Security, not all validators have to validate a consumer chain, but they can opt in. ICS v2 is tailored for smaller chains, that don't need the entire security of the Hub from the get go.

As these chains grow and find PMF they can always ramp up to the level of security they need. ICS v2 makes it permissionless to launch a consumer chain on the Hub, while ICS v1 required a governance proposal to be passed.

Chains that already announced to go live via ICS v2 later this year are;

Elys Network, Lorenzo Protocol, Landslide, Aether and Cycles

The Cosmos Hub Elevator Pitch

Informal Systems is aiming to make the Cosmos Hub the best place to launch a chain. We want to provide the easiest way to launch a sovereign Appchain, find a validator set, and obtain sufficient security.

Launchpad Services

On top, the Cosmos Hub offers consumer chains services that facilitate their go to market strategy with features like:

- Airdrop services

- Liquidity bootstrapping (Hydro/Atom wars)

- Validator support

- DeFi integrations

Babylon and Bitcoin L2s launching on the Hub

The Hub has a very close relationship with Babylon, and the Cosmos Hub is most likely going to be the second AVS on Babylon secured by Bitcoin, after Babylon itself.

With the Babylon integration, the Hub becomes the best place to launch a sovereign Bitcoin L2.

BTC security in combination with the Cosmos SDK offers a superior toolbox for developers to build a Bitcoin specific Appchain.

The End Game

The end game for the Hub is to be the best place to launch a chain!

This means the Cosmos Hub will have lots of consumer chains, a few big chains via ICS v1 and even more smaller ones via ICS v2. The Hub will succeed, if it provides max value to its consumer chains.

Rollups on the Hub?

We haven't fully announced it yet, but there's a lot going on behind the scenes to integrate rollup technology for the Hub.

We want there to be an option to launch rollups on the Hub for ppl that don't necessarily need an Appchain for what they're building.

Rollups built with the Cosmos-SDK, allows teams to pretty easily transition their logic up to an Appchain if they decided to add some more powerful functionality to their application at a later stage.

+ IBC connectivity out of the box

Mega Blocks

There's a lot of value in asynchronous interoperability between chains via IBC, but having synchronous interoperability like ETH L1 or Solana has its superpowers too. Hence we thought, why not have both?

Therefore, in Q1 2024, we did some research on it, and what we found is that it's basically just a shared sequencer. So the Mega Blocks project got spun into the Rollup initiative, which isn't a solo effort of Informal Systems anymore, other teams are working with us on this front as well.

To sum it up:

There are lots of exciting features like ICS 2.0, Bitcoin Staking, Hydro/ATOM wars, Rollups, etc., coming to the Cosmos Hub over the next weeks and months.

But even more important, the Hub has finally found its purpose in being the best place to launch a chain!

Disclaimer

This article is intended to educate readers about certain topics and should not be considered financial advice in any way.