If you are interested to the previous posts of this series, check it out here:
What is it?
Cosmos (ATOM) was created in 2016, when the programmer Jae Kwon created the white paper of the project called “Gnuclear”. The latter provided for the use of a completely decentralized interoperable blockchain system, possible through the use of the so-called Tendermint "consensus protocol", useful for the purpose. The idea was later perfected with the help of community programmers, thanks to whom, after numerous changes, on 5 August of the same year, the project was renamed Cosmos.
How does it work?
The purpose of Cosmos is based on a structure known as The Hub. The Cosmos Hub, is actually a ledger that keeps the main story of the entire Cosmos network. In simpler words, it is a blockchain that stores the information of everything that happens in Cosmos and the actions that are performed between the different actors that are interconnected to its network. For example, if two blockchains interconnected with Cosmos share certain events, those events will be recorded in the central Hub of Cosmos to witness what happened. At the same time, the results of those actions will be recorded in the respective blockchain they interacted with. In this way, the evidence of the interaction is recorded in such a way that there is no way to deny it. This is very useful, as this type of structure makes it very easy to develop DApps (decentralized applications). In any case, the Hub is a story of events between the participants in the Cosmos network. This story is possible thanks to the existence of the Cosmos blockchain communication protocol (IBC for Inter Blockchain Communication). The task of this protocol is to provide a standard connector that allows blockchains within Cosmos to exchange messages and share information, while maintaining a complete log of such messages within the Hub. In this way it is possible to enable exchanges in a completely decentralized way between all blockchains. The purpose of this idea is so broad that Cosmos is known in the cryptocurrency world as "the Internet of the Blockchain"
Where to store it?
The best hot wallets for ATOM are Keplr, Cosmostation, TrustWallet and Atomic Wallet. If you want more security, a cold storage like Ledger or Trezor is the right choice.
Pros&Cons
*DISCLAIMER* These lists are subjective, it depends from person to person
Pros
- Fast and cheap blockchain
- Great staking options
- It already has a funtional product
Cons
- There are not many users across the IBC
- It has many strong competitors (Polkadot)
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