Summary #
Tendermint pioneered POS (proof-of-stake) in 2014 (by solving the “nothing at stake” problem) using classical consensus techniques originally developed in the 1980’s for fault-tolerant missile defense systems. The Cosmos Hub was the first blockchain to launch on Tendermint in 2019, and described a network of IBC (inter-blockchain communication) connected blockchains. IBC as an acronym was coined by us for Cosmos. Cosmos in turn spurred a resurgence of interest and capital into consensus research worldwide. Today there are thousands of proof of stake blockchains.
To distinguish between Cosmos, the internet of blockchains, and the Cosmos Hub, the first blockchain and hub for Cosmos, we will refer to the Cosmos Hub in this article as Gaia, the name of the Cosmos Hub program.