Ethereum and Cosmos Hub are two very different blockchains with entirely different goals. Ethereum was invented to be a more beneficial blockchain application than what was available at the time – namely, Bitcoin.
Cosmos Hub (ATOM), on the other hand, doesn’t see other currencies as competition. In fact, they want to unite the entire ‘cosmos’ of the digital currency world. By this, we mean it wishes to interconnect all established tokens on its platform. The first token available in this Hub is Cosmo’s own native token, ATOM.
So, while Cosmos Hub thrives on coexisting with other blockchains, Ethereum wishes to stay ahead of the competition. In this guide, we’ll examine the other key differences between these two leading cryptocurrencies.
History
Ethereum revolutionized the possibilities of crypto upon its launch. The Cosmos ecosystem, too, has striven to change the crypto game since its launch.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum was conceptualized and executed by a former Bitcoin Weekly writer. The programmer behind the crypto, Vitalik “Vitaly” Buterin, sought to create a coin that would challenge Bitcoin’s stronghold. His secret weapon was smart contracts, which were unheard of at the time.
Writing down his plans, Buterin created the original whitepaper for Ethereum in 2013 (revised and republished in 2014). Throughout 2014, Buterin spread the word of his plans at various Bitcoin conferences. The rest of his time was spent crowdfunding and assembling a team of crypto experts.
The Ethereum blockchain was officially launched on July 30th, 2015. The influence that Ethereum has had since its launch is incomparable. Smart contracts have expanded the possibilities of crypto. ETH has managed to keep ahead of other independent blockchains by constantly updating. The Ethereum 2.0 update, however, has experienced several delays.
Cosmos (ATOM)
The founders of Cosmos Hub, Ethan Buchman, and Jae Kwon started working on the platform back in 2014. At this time, Buchman and Kwon had just established Tendermint. One of the earliest crypto consensus algorithms, Tendermint, is used today in several crypto platforms. This includes the Cosmo Hub!
After planning out their idea for the Cosmos Hub, the duo published the Cosmo Hub whitepaper in 2016. This same year, the first-ever ATOM token was sold. Through the help of The Interchain Foundation (ICF), ATOM tokens were sold widely throughout 2017.
Once enough ATOM token holders had been established, the Cosmos Network was officially launched on March 13th, 2019.
What Are They, And Why Were They Created?
Four years is a long time in the world of crypto. Ethereum and Cosmo were launched for very different reasons. The world of crypto had changed massively by 2019, thanks to the massive influence of the Ethereum blockchain. The Cosmo network was made to solve different problems than that of Ethereum.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum was introduced primarily to provide an alternative to Bitcoin. By 2015, Bitcoin had long reigned as the main cryptocurrency. However, it didn’t offer users much. Besides making online purchases easier to complete, Bitcoin doesn’t provide users with many uses. There was room to expand the potentialities of cryptocurrency.
Ethereum established the scripting language for smart contracts. Smart contracts are virtual agreements between two users of Ethereum. These agreements can involve any number of things.
Smart contracts can also be used to create tokenized derivatives, synthetic assets, and decentralized applications.
Cosmos Hub (ATOM)
The Cosmos blockchain was specifically created as an alternative to Ethereum, Bitcoin, and all the other leading cryptocurrencies. At the time, the major crypto players were experiencing scalability issues.
Cosmos Hub offers low transaction fees (just $0.01!), fast transactions, and big block sizes. All of which allows it to provide better scalability than the likes of the Ethereum blockchain. Additionally, the hub boasts the Interblockchain Communication protocol, which allows for inter-blockchain communication.
Cosmos wishes to unite all the different cryptocurrencies together in one big Cosmos community. It is often described as ‘the internet of blockchains’ and connects all cryptos that use the IBC protocol.
Not only can you use crypto that’s already established on the hub, but you can also launch new crypto coins from the cosmos ecosystem. To do this, you can fork the Cosmos hub codebase. To help you out, the platform offers complimentary blockchain development frameworks.
Price History
Just like regular currency, cryptocurrency fluctuates every second of the day. Given the vast amount of crypto and the way people invest in it, the market can be extremely volatile. Ethereum and Cosmos are no exception.
Ethereum (ETH)
The current value of Ethereum is $1,273.65. Given that it is the second biggest crypto coin on the market, Ethereum can be subject to sudden increases and decreases in its value. For example, in 24 hours, Ethereum has experienced a high of $1,295.59 and a low of $1,249.72 (as of December 9th, 2022).
Since January 2022, the coin has been in gradual decline. It experienced a small value hike around August but began to drop again shortly after.
This is surprising, given that just over a year ago, the coin was experiencing its all-time high. In November 2021, Ethereum was worth $4,829.57.
Cosmos (ATOM)
The Cosmo Hub coin price is currently at $9.68 (as of December 9th, 2022). Like all coins, the Cosmos Network has experienced peaks and troughs in the few years it’s been live. The coin’s all-time low was $1.16, which occurred in March 2020. Its all-time high occurred in January 2022, when the coin was valued at $44.45.
Market Cap
If ATOM holders were to add all their coins together, the combined value would be the market cap of the crypto.
Ethereum (ETH)
Based on the combined value of ETH, the market capitalization of Ethereum is $156,013,694,257.
Cosmos Hub (ATOM)
The market cap of the Cosmos blockchain is $2,833,773,294.
Daily Transactions
The daily transaction count reflects how many people are engaging with the Ethereum platform and Cosmos network.
Ethereum
Ethereum is currently experiencing a daily transaction level of around 923,887.
Cosmos Hub
The daily transaction count for the Cosmos blockchain is not currently known.
Block Size
By examining the block size of a cryptocurrency, you can determine the level of transactions it has the capacity for.
Ethereum
Ethereum’s block size is 4 MB, which gives it a reasonable capacity. This is four times the size of Bitcoin’s blocks!
Cosmos Hub
The exact block size of the Cosmos blockchain is not known. However, it can be assumed that it is bigger than that of Ethereum. This is based on the fact that cosmos chains can perform 1,000 transactions per second.
Similarities
- Both use proof-of-stake: Ethereum and Cosmos are proof-of-stake powered.
- Decentralized network: Both platforms seek to put the investor in full control.
- Availability: Both ETH and the ATOM token are widely available on crypto exchange sites.
Differences
- More transactions: Cosmos blockchain can facilitate more transactions than Ethereum can. Cosmos chains can perform 1,000 transactions per second, while Ethereum can only carry out 30 maximum.
- Purpose: The Cosmos ecosystem seeks to connect cryptos and establish interchain security. Ethereum, on the other hand, wants to become the leading crypto.
- Protocol: Cosmos uses the Tendermint protocol, while Ethereum uses an Ethereum-based protocol.
Risks
As proven by the respective price history of both coins, there is a certain degree of risk involved when investing in both ETH and the ATOM token.
Ethereum
- Ethereum may fall behind other proof-of-stake-powered cryptocurrencies in the future. Given how long it has taken to get Ethereum 2.0 off the ground, other crypto platforms have had a chance to catch up.
- Ethereum requires a lot of investment in the first place. Unlike other, lesser-known cryptocurrencies, it takes a lot of money just to buy one Ethereum coin. The greater the investment, the greater the risk involved.
Cosmos Hub
- Given its grand scale, there’s a bigger security risk involved with the Cosmos blockchain than with other, smaller cryptos.
- The Cosmos blockchain also has competition that could beat it at its own game. Polkadot, for example, follows a similar platform design.
Where to Buy
Ethereum
Cosmos Hub
- Binance
- Kraken
- MEXC Global
- Coinbase
Exchanging Ethereum for Cosmos Hub
To exchange Ethereum directly for Cosmos Hub, visit a major crypto exchange site such as Kraken or Coinbase.
Future Plans
The roadmaps of Ethereum and Cosmos are as follows:
Ethereum
Ethereum will likely be conserving most of its efforts toward finalizing the launch of Ethereum 2.0. It is expected to arrive in full at some point in 2023.
Cosmos
Cosmos has several updates planned. This includes the v8-Rho and v9-Lambda upgrades. Both of which are expected to be carried out in 2023.
https://www.securities.io/cosmos-vs-ethereum-whats-the-difference/
https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/ethereum-cosmos-monolithic-modular-blockchain
https://cryptobriefing.com/cosmos-hub-drops-atom-2-0-whitepaper-to-bullish-fanfare/
https://www.securities.io/investing-in-cosmos-atom-everything-you-need-to-know/
https://hub.cosmos.network/main/roadmap/cosmos-hub-roadmap-2.0.html
https://www.cryptoeq.io/corereports/cosmos-abridged