Coin columns · Mainnet Province
Cosmos Hub: the first hub of an ‘internet of blockchains’
Tendermint, the Cosmos SDK, IBC and the ATOM token
The Cosmos Hub is the first chain of the Cosmos ecosystem, launched to build an ‘internet of blockchains’ where independent chains exchange assets and data. ATOM is its native coin, used for staking and governance.
1. Origins
Cosmos began with a 2016 white paper by Jae Kwon and Ethan Buchman. The Swiss-based Interchain Foundation (ICF) raised funds in a 2017 token sale, and the hub’s mainnet launched in March 2019. Instead of one chain hosting every app, each app would run its own linked blockchain, an appchain.
Cosmos first released tools that make chain-building easy, and many chains, such as Osmosis, the dYdX Chain and Celestia, were built with them, though not all are part of the hub. On the Crypto Nation map, ATOM is the city-hall tower of the Cosmos Hub chain in Mainnet Province, as few tokens live on it yet.
2. The technology
Its technology has three parts: Tendermint (now CometBFT), a proof-of-stake consensus engine where validators with staked coins make blocks; the Cosmos SDK, a toolkit for assembling chains; and IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication) for passing tokens and messages between chains. IBC went live on the hub with the Stargate upgrade in February 2021.
ATOM holders delegate coins to validators, earn rewards and help secure the network. New ATOM is issued continuously, with the inflation rate depending on the staking ratio and governance decisions. Upgrades and community spending are decided by on-chain votes of ATOM holders.
3. The hub’s changing role
In November 2022 the ‘ATOM 2.0’ overhaul of the hub’s role and token economics was voted down, prolonging debate about its direction. In 2023 Interchain Security let hub validators also secure ‘consumer’ chains such as Neutron and Stride, but results were mixed and some chains later left.
In late 2024 the ICF acquired the cross-chain company Skip to rebuild its core development team, which now operates as Cosmos Labs. In April 2025 IBC Eureka extended IBC to Ethereum. Cosmos technology is also used by companies and institutions building their own chains.
4. Things to know
Despite the ecosystem’s growth, how much of its value flows back to ATOM has long been disputed. Because many appchains secure themselves with their own tokens, there have been repeated calls to clarify the role of the hub and ATOM. Critics also note that ongoing issuance dilutes holders who do not stake.
Governance has seen repeated disputes over how development teams and the foundation operate and spend. Unstaking ATOM takes 21 days, and validators who break rules can have part of the staked coins slashed. Problems on chains or bridges connected by IBC can also ripple across the ecosystem.
Written from information public up to October 2026. It does not recommend or rate any coin and is not investment advice. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.