Cosmos SDK is super hot at the moment for appchains, and a bunch of projects are getting built across all the trendy sectors where the narrative is super bullish for 2024 and beyond. Projects seeking easy customization, interoperability, gas fee optimization, high TPS, and throughput with their own Layer1 chain are bidding on Cosmos SDK for benefits. We are seeing a whole lot of applications being built with Cosmos SDK, starting from DeFi, Gaming, RWA, DePIN, Web3*AI, and more, which have never been seen before. 

In this piece, we shall see who all are building their custom L1 chains using Cosmos SDK in 2024 and what benefits they are getting. 

A Cosmos SDK Recap:  

Cosmos has many powerful architectural benefits that attract projects from various sectors. For example, the IBC, or Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol, allows all the blockchains and Dapps deployed on top of the Cosmos environment to interact with each other, regardless of whether they have been launched as a general-purpose L1 or a Cosmos App chain. 

Because of its pallet-based design and modular Architecture, developers can adjust ecosystem functionalities by defining governance, staking, slashing, and more. In this way, in contrast to what they were struggling with earlier from the standpoint of earmarking a dedicated throughput route, defining their own native tokens for gas usage, and using the Cosmos SDK, they can launch a standalone Cosmos SDK L1 Chain to achieve all of these. 

Tendermint Core allows interaction among all the separate L1 chains or app chains through the Cosmos Hub, which works as a standalone ecosystem for launching all the Cosmos blockchains built on top of the Cosmos ecosystem for value transfer. 

ABCI or Application Blockchain Interface helps connect the Dapp ‘s State Machine with the Cosmos Consensus Engine. In this way, it is not necessarily mandatory to code in any specific language; on the contrary, the developers can code in the language of their choice, and the Cosmos SDK will execute operations of the codes through specific interpretation to trigger a logic-driven state change without infringing upon the operations of the Dapp ecosystem to give them complete modularity while building their application. 

In this way, they can define their own rules, gas tokens, consensus mechanism, throughput, and more to support their specific use-cases functionality using the Cosmos SDK L1 chains tech frameworks to build their own blockchain and stay connected with other projects developed around the same interface active in different Cosmos ecosystem. 

Learn more about Why Cosmos SDK is a powerful framework to build custom blockchains 

Key Projects Building Their Own Custom Cosmos Chains Across Sectors  in 2024 

Depin

1- Akash Network 

Akash Network brings a new evolution in cloud computing with its decentralized architecture.  So far, we have seen big names like  Amazon, Google, and Microsoft dominating 56% of the market share. They have used this cloud to push users towards inflated charges and forceful SLAs. Akash Network aims to solve the problem by decoupling KuberNates with Cosmos SDK’s Tendermint Core, which provides:

• Seamless onboarding through the use of ABCI
• 10X cheaper fees 
• Support for high scalability 
• Better interoperability with other decentralized services 

2- Syntropy

Access to the Internet shouldn’t be restricted but democratized. Syntrophy spearheads this change through DARP or Distributed Autonomous Routing Network, where retail users can commit to excess bandwidth and earn tokens in exchange. For this pursuit, the Syntrophy Network choose Cosmos SDK as its solution for building its L1 chain to support its vision because; 

• Cosmos allowed simplified Dapp development through the use of TenderMint Core and CometBFT.
• Ability to use existing programming languages like Goland and C++
• Interoperability Through IBC
• Higher scalability. 

Web3 x AI

1- Fetch.AI

Fetch.AI’s plan has been to automate daily work where machines get smart as ever to undertake daily tasks from scheduling a meeting to executing a profitable trade on behalf of the trader to tackling operational inefficiencies due to the inability to process actionable data that lie in silos or are not ready for evaluation. However, while acting as a nexus between all the digital channels to eliminate anomalies, Fetch.AI incessantly feels the need to specify their own rules of the game from the governance standpoint, specify gas, and more.  With Ethereum, such a pursuit is highly debatable, and that’s why the latest transition to Cosmos has brought; 

• Governance in control of the Fetch ecosystem
• Interoperability triggered through IBC to interact with all the protocols connected and exchange data at half the cost. 
• Lower fees using the CometBFT consensus mechanism 
• Block times of as low as 0.5 seconds provide instant finality standards to Fetch.AI 

2- Human AI

AI is on the rise, and big tech companies, like they dominated the dot com bubble and social media boom, want to do the same with AI. However, Human.AI’s vision is to democratize AI so that everyone can have an equal opportunity to develop something unprecedented and tap their intelligentsia for profit motives. In this pursuit, the key reason that Human.AI chose Cosmos SDK as their go-to blockchain layer for hosting their Dapp is because of the following reasons; 

• There is a need to meet interoperability while communicating with the larger AI/blockchain ecosystem. 
• Complete control over governance 
• Meeting high scalability standards 
• It is simple to program because Cosmos supports all types of programming languages. 

DeFi

1- DyDx

As a leading decentralized exchange, in the backdrop of an ongoing bull market knocking at the doorsteps, DyDx is witnessing heavy volumes. Due to a 20X leverage, the derivative trade value has reached $1,019,874,847.05. Hence, the need of the hour is to meet the surging demand. Cosmos SDK can meet with way above 10 Trades per second and 1,000 order placements per second, allowing the exchange to experience; 

• Radical changes to the protocol through a self-sovereign governance
• There is an incessant need to remain highly decentralized without compromising performance.
• Full customization is guaranteed through the Cosmos DyDx app chain, where every validator will be given the leverage to run an in-memory orderbook independent of the consensus. However, it should look similar to a blockchain transaction.  
• As a result, high throughput will be generated because order books need 100X more throughput compared to trade execution with zero gas cost, which is seemingly impossible on other chains. 

2- Nibiru 

The blockchain space is hard-pressed to integrate many applications on a single core layer, like decentralized oracles, exchanges, stablecoins, data indexing, and smart contract royalties. However, integrating all of that into a single platform by consolidating all the features as one amounts to compromising the sovereignty of the ecosystem. Cosmos SDK custom L1 chains are allowing projects like Nibiru to experience; 

• Independence of development through Cosm Wasm Connection with larger blockchain ecosystem through IBC
• Optimized Gas Cost 
• Fully Open Source allows the Nibiru chain to remain highly auditable compared to complex development on top of solidity. 
• Better control over governance 

3- ArchWayHQ

The Web 3 space is inundated with complexities, and the developer cohort needs an intelligent solution to solve these complexities. Archway carves a way forward by integrating specific tools that can aid in building and launching scalable dapps and allow developers to tap into the efficacies they provide through a value capture mechanism they get in specific royalties whenever those apps create value out of it. Considering that such trade-offs will demand a lot of network activity happening on top of the ecosystem, the Archway ecosystem needs to be scalable and robust, and for that purpose, Cosmos SDK has been an imminent choice for the following reasons; 

• Cosmos SDK supports over 40 high-level programming languages with the likes of C and C++, TypeScript, Python, and Java
• Through IBC, developers have a better chance to build and deploy apps interconnected with the larger Cosmos ecosystem.
• Because Cosmos SDK is fully open source and capable of developing in multiple languages, it provides access to a broader community and strengthens security. 
• Experience near-low gas cost transactions 

General Purpose 

1- EVMos

The blockchain space has been highly guarded by the ecosystem, which has significantly impacted the UX. For example, if you wish to interact with different blockchain ecosystems, you need to deploy a Dapp on top of each system. As a result, it significantly impacts UX. EVMos has been engineered in a manner to cater to this problem, and for that reason, top projects are exploding in its ecosystem, like Injective, Berachain and Canto. EVMos’s intention to choose the Cosmos SDK for creating the L1 chain was highly influenced by the following; 

• Ability to create EVM-compatible Tendermint POS Chains to connect with a broader ecosystem
• Facilitate interoperability through the use of IBC, which has attracted users and investors 
• Near low gas cost 
• Very high application scalability through the use of CometBFT Consensus Mechanism. 

Gaming 

1- Monsterra 

Though many NFT games have made headlines, they have faced an imminent ecosystem hurdle obstructing their rise. Monsteraa deployment on the Cosmos and Aura Network is significant because through Cosmos SDK l1 Chains, the Mosterra gaming ecosystem will introduce;

• A transition from EVM to Cosmos, which shall not only help Mosterra tap into the Cosmos ecosystem through IBC but also connect with the Ethereum ecosystem using ICS-721 
• Meet with high scalability requirements 
• Optimize the gas costs as per the project’s varying needs
• Instant transaction processing facility 

2- TABI

Tabi is a prominent gaming L1 chain in the news lately because it breaks the barrier of restricting the game environment to a single ecosystem. On the contrary, through the use of Cosmos SDK, the Tabi Chain introduces; 

• High interoperability and cross-chain bridging using IBC
• Improves community governance 
• Customizable developer-friendly tools that aid in swift game development on top of blockchains 
• Very high scalability using the CometBFT and TenderMint Core consensus engine. 

RWA

1- Mantra Chain

Mantra chain provides the infrastructure for regulated assets to operate and thrive in a decentralized ecosystem. Through the Mantra chain, it will be possible to track investments through KYC, AML, transaction monitoring, risk assessment, and regulatory clarity. Since Mantra chain wishes to bring RWAs on the blockchain, Cosmos SDK enabled them to:

• Cater to high-end scalability requirements.
• Better interoperability with other applications through IBC 
• Tendermint Core and CometBFT eliminate the instances of forking that restrict malicious actors to cause harm.
• Ready-to-use developer kit for robust development. 

2- Realio Network 

The vision of the Realio network is to break the fabric of reality between the reel and real by bridging both these worlds, where users can use AR, VR, and gaming infrastructure to connect to the reel world where they can experience events, concerts, and sporting events in a new avatar. As a result, the need for limitless scalability is unavoidable. However, Realio Network wanted a tech stack that wouldn’t just allow Realio to undertake custom development but not fragment liquidity in the process. As a result, the Cosmos SDK ended up as a top choice because:

• Cosmos SDK supports various languages, allowing the Realio team to develop applications without building everything from scratch.
• Meet with high scalability and low-cost gas powered by CometBFT and tendermint Core.
• Enables Cross chain interaction with other Dapps within the ecosystem
• Open Source nature allows Realio to enjoy better security 

A TL, DR of Projects Building with Cosmos SDK: 

Zeeve’s Lets You Launch Your AppChain with  Cosmos SDK at lower-cost

Zeeve provides enterprise-grade appchain infrastructure for Cosmos SDK chains with additional dev tools and plugins. Teams can enable seamless interoperability integrating with IBC, get Block explorers, faucets, data indexing tools, and more along with scalable nodes and APIs for their Cosmos Chains. 

Zeeve can help them launch a custom L1 blockchain quickly either from scratch or migrate from an existing blockchain network with minimal turnaround time and without any risk of data loss. 

Read more about Zeeve’s appchain infrastructure-as-a-service for Cosmos SDK. Need more info? Get in touch with our web3 experts, and we will help you choose the right stack for your next project.