Figure 11.1: Cosmos Network

Cosmos uses open-source tools to tie all the layers together and

enable the developers to build the Blockchain applications.

The following are the major differentiators of the Cosmos Blockchain

network:

Tendermint: The consensus model that Cosmos follows is called

“Tendermint Core Byzantine Fault Tolerance” or simply “Tendermint”.

The Tendermint BFT engine helps in forming the layered design of

Cosmos by allowing the developers to create the Blockchains

without having to code from scratch.

IBC: The “Inter Blockchain Communication” protocol or IBC is

responsible for the communication between the layers of the

Blockchain network. IBC enables the developers to build a wide

range of cross-chain DApps that can do token transfers, run smart

contracts and data, and code sharding of different kinds.

Cosmos SDK: Opensource framework to build multiple custom

Blockchains from scratch that can communicate with each other.

In order to connect all the different Blockchains, Cosmos follows a

“Hub and Spoke” architecture, where a hub or the centre can

connect to multiple spokes, each bearing a different Blockchain, as

shown in Figure 11.2. Each Blockchain has its own set of validators

that can work independently. Refer to Figure 11.2 as follows: