Cosmos News /// by ZKV #120

1M ATOMs

A little bit of chit-chat

Informal Systems is developing "Forge," a user-facing frontend for Interchain Security (ICS), aimed at streamlining the user experience for ATOM delegators, validators, and chain developers within the Cosmos ecosystem. Forge addresses several challenges, including the need for a unified platform for discovering new consumer chains, exploring staking rewards, and engaging with chain communities. The platform will feature a chain listing screen with filters and rankings and a chain detail screen highlighting validator information and interactive badges. Initial chain listings will require at least one active Hub validator to mitigate spam, with potential future enhancements for community approval mechanisms.

$1M ATOMs

A proposal seeks to transfer 1M ATOMs from the Cosmos Hub community pool to the Hydro committee. This includes 500K ATOMs for an ATOM liquidity bucket and 500K ATOMs for a liquid-staked stATOM liquidity bucket via Stride.

But what’s Hydro? Hydro is a set of smart contracts on the Neutron testnet, audited by Oak Security. It allows projects to bid for protocol-owned liquidity deployments, benefiting ATOM holders. The Hydro governance process includes a seven-member monitoring committee that tracks liquidity export performance and provides guidance on asset whitelisting. The committee ensures efficient and effective operations.

Strategically, the proposal aims to enhance Interchain Security (ICS) synergies, generate value accrual, and reinforce ATOM's role in the interchain capital market. Hydro streamlines protocol-owned liquidity allocation, reducing governance friction and making the Hub a preferred launchpad. It also generates revenue through tributes and DeFi yields, leveraging Cosmos Hub's liquidity and governance strengths.

Community sentiment regarding the Hydro proposal is mixed but leans towards scepticism and concern. Supporters believe the proposal could streamline liquidity deployment and enhance ATOM's utility but agree that amendments are necessary to address the community's transparency and neutrality concerns.

IBC everywhere

StarkWare, the core developer of Ethereum Layer 2 solution Starknet, is set to integrate the inter-blockchain communication (IBC) protocol, which is integral to the Cosmos ecosystem, to enable interoperability between independent blockchains. This collaboration involves Cosmos contributor Informal Systems.

The integration will enable Starknet to connect with any IBC-compatible chain, including all Cosmos chains and others that adopt this feature.

A little bit of Sovereign Radio

Wrap Up

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