Informal Systems, is a development company that deals with the construction of Cosmos. It has created a model of shared security that will be added to the Cosmos ecosystem. It ensures the security of the blockchain technology ecosystem, and also makes the process of launching the blockchain itself easier and more accessible to the user. Interchain Security – that’s what we’re talking about. How does it work and what impact will it have on the Cosmos network? This is the topic of our lesson today.
Interchain Security from Cosmos (ATOM) – what is it?
From our previous lessons, you know that the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network is a space revolution blockchain. It enabled all users to secure the network with a token, not a hash factor. We wrote about the variants of the consensus and its most important aspects here.
However, small blockchain PoS networks have low market capital and very few resources. In addition, a low number of stakers, low staking value – these are the factors that make the network more vulnerable to attacks. As a result, this affects its low position on the market.
What does that have to do with Interchain Security? The entire Cosmos ecosystem was built to be the“internet of blockchains”. It is designed to facilitate the creation of connected and interoperable networks.
They are all to be built on the same infrastructure. Next Cosmos Hub shares security with other blockchains by lending them its capital, which is used to validate blocks on smaller chains. As you know, blockchain networks adopt different types of shared security: rollups, zk-rollups or sharding. Interchain Security falls into this category, but it is shared security, built using the Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC).
How does Interchain Security work?
Interchain Security allows Cosmos Hub to be responsible for the production of blocks for the consumer chain. How is it done? By allowing validators to run as many as two nodes – for Cosmos Hub and the consumer chain. For the latter blockchain, validators are required to pack the system’s native tokens – ATOM Then all evidence of downtime in the consumer chain is sent to the supplier chain, where staking tokens can be destroyed.
It is also used here protocol Inter Blockchain (IBC). It is responsible for communicating the consumer chain with Cosmos Hub and tracking which validators are actively participating in Interchain Security and reporting absolutely all downtime.
Fun fact: Interchain Security was referred to by other terms: Shared Security, Cross Chain Validation, Cross Chain Collaterization, Shared Staking, Interchain Staking. So don’t be surprised if you come across a different nomenclature in the backstage of crypto.
Why is Interchain Security so important?
This is the most essential update for the Cosmos ecosystem. What do we gain?
- Thanks to Interchain Security, it will be possible to increase network security, as well as to connect different groups of users and reduce conflicts between them.
- It will increase platform performance by running Practical Hub Minimalism. (The Cosmos Hub philosophy, whose belief is that Cosmos should have as few functions as possible).
- Interchain Security allows each of the newly added functions to the ecosystem to become a separate chain. They will then be programmed; will have their tokens and fees. This will encourage validators to actively participate in these chains.
- The update will also allow Cosmos Hub to combine value ATOM socks with its consumer chains.
- What’s more, Interchain Security allows Cosmos to remain true to its philosophy of sovereignty. According to the developers, it will enable blockchain economic, not political integration.
Roadmap Interchain Security
We cannot leave it without comment. She is very ambitious and demanding. According to her prediction, security Interchain in the near future will be common in all zones. Of course, assuming that these zones meet the threshold of common validators. Then it will also be possible to implement a new form of consensus. And thus, a new string property will appear: synchronous inter-string communication.
Summary
The new update for the Cosmos Ecosystem brings with it many possibilities. Looking at the above-mentioned roadmap, we can see that the developers have an ambitious plan. We look forward to more.