It’s time for the usual update from the Informal Systems’ Cosmos Hub team. Here are some of the highlights:
Coordinated the Cosmos Hub v17 upgrade.
Completed the integration and testnet phases for Gaia v18.
Started the integration phase for Gaia v19.
Completed the signaling phase for ICS with Inactive Hub Validators and started the implementation phase.
Started the discussion and signaling phases for Permisionless ICS.
Note that we use CHIPs to track the progress of our work. Hence, throughout this update, we refer to different phases of the CHIPs framework.
On June 5th, the Cosmos Hub upgraded to Gaia v17.1.0. This is a major release that added ICS 2.0 to the Cosmos Hub. ICS 2.0, also known as Partial Set Security (PSS), enables consumer chains to join Interchain Security (ICS) as either Top N (the top N% of the voting power on the Hub must validate the consumer) or Opt-In (validation on the consumer is completely optional) and enables validators to opt-in and out of validating any given consumer chain. For more details on the PSS feature, check out the ICS docs.
In addition, Gaia v17.1.0 patched a security vulnerability identified in the Liquid Staking Module (LSM). The patch entails adding validation to prevent shares from being tokenized if redelegations are in progress. For more details, check out the public advisory.
We thank the validator community for a smooth upgrade with around 17 minutes of downtime.
Around two hours after the v17 upgrade, the Cosmos Hub halted. The halt was due to a bug in the ICS code. The Informal Systems Cosmos Hub team, in coordination with Hypha and Binary Builders*,* provided the fix (as part of Gaia v17.2.0), and the chain was back online in under five hours. For more details, check out the post mortem we published on the Cosmos Hub forum.
Throughout June, we conducted the integration and testnet phases for Gaia v18, a release that will add the following features to the Cosmos Hub:
Permissioned CosmWasm (as per prop 895) enables the governance-gated deployment of CosmWasm contracts. See this forum discussion for more details on what contracts should be deployed on the Hub.
Skip's feemarket module (as per prop 842) enables the dynamic adjustment of the base transaction fee based on the block utilization (the more transactions in a block, the higher the base fee). This module replaces the x/globalfee module.
Expedited proposals (as per prop 926) enable governance proposals with a shorter voting period (i.e., one week instead of two), but with a higher tally threshold (i.e., 66.7% of Yes votes for the proposal to pass) and a higher minimum deposit (i.e., 500 ATOMs instead of the 250 for regular proposals). Initially, only MsgSoftwareUpgrade and MsgCancelUpgrade can be expedited.
In addition, Gaia v18 bumps IBC to v7.6.0 and ICS to v4.3.0 (see below). The IBC release adds length limitations to the string fields of several IBC messages, including MsgTransfer and, as a result, addresses some of the past spam “attacks” on the Cosmos Hub.
In June, we released ICS v4.3.0, which brings a series of improvements to Partial Set Security:
Add the ConsumerModification gov proposal that enables consumer chains to update the power shaping parameters after launch.
Start distributing ICS rewards to validators only after they have been validating for a given number of blocks (by default, for around 24 hours). The reason for this is to avoid validators opting in on consumer chains just for the rewards without running consumer nodes.
Fix minor issues found during the security review conducted by the
We started the integration phase for Gaia v19, which will upgrade the Cosmos Hub to the latest versions of Cosmos SDK (v0.50) and IBC (v8.3). This is part of a larger initiative to make the Cosmos Hub the reference chain for the Interchain Stack and is a collaboration with Binary Builders. The goal of this initiative is to improve the upgrade process to newer versions of the Interchain Stack, which will consequently improve the adoption within the Cosmos ecosystem. Additionally, the Cosmos Hub community will gain access to the new Interchain Stack features sooner, which will result in faster product development. Finally, by being on par with the latest releases of the Interchain Stack, the Cosmos Hub community can more actively contribute to the development of the Interchain Stack by asking for new features to be added in the next releases.
For this particular upgrade, we restarted the work on the prerequisites necessary to upgrade Gaia to Cosmos SDK v0.50:
We finished porting the Liquid Staking Module (LSM) to Cosmos SDK v0.50. Next, we will cut a special Cosmos SDK release with support for LSM. As a reminder, having LSM on a special branch of Cosmos SDK means that LSM is not being automatically upgraded with mainline Cosmos SDK. Thus, LSM requires continuous maintenance until it gets added to the mainline Cosmos SDK.
We finished porting PSS to Cosmos SDK v0.50 and we are working on upgrading ICS main to SDK v0.50. Next, we will cut an ICS v5.1.0 release that will be at parity with
We started a spike to upgrade Gaia to Cosmos SDK v0.50.
As a preliminary timeline for v19, we plan to upgrade the testnet on July 24 and the mainnet on August 7. Note that these dates might change due to issues during the integration phase.
We completed the signaling phase for the ICS with Inactive Hub Validators that enable validators from outside the Hub’s active set to validate on consumer chains. This feature brings the following benefits to ICS.
First, it reduces the entry barrier for projects to launch as consumer chains since more validators will be allowed to opt in.
Second, it enables validators outside the Hub’s active set to compete by providing their services to interesting projects.
Third, it reduces the risk of all the validators of a consumer chain opting out, which would require the chain to leave ICS.
We published a forum post that described the feature and proposed a detailed architecture in the form of an ADR. We also submitted a signaling governance proposal that already passed. We want to thank everyone who participated in the discussion on the Cosmos Hub forum and voted on the proposal.
Finally, we started implementing the feature. The target is to release it as part of Gaia v20.
We made significant progress on an ICS Launchpad, a comprehensive front-end platform designed to streamline the deployment of new projects as consumer chains. This initiative aims to dramatically simplify the process of launching and managing consumer chains within the Cosmos ecosystem.
The first iteration (version 0) of the platform was developed with a focus on the upcoming "Launching on Interchain Security" workshop at the Cosmos Hub @ EthCC event. This early Alpha build was used to gather direct user feedback and showcased key features, including:
A user-friendly interface for chain configuration and deployment
Integration with the Cosmos Hub for seamless validator set access
Tools for managing chain parameters and Interchain Security settings
A discovery gallery for new and upcoming consumer chains
A validator opt-in (and opt-out) system to facilitate easy participation in new chains
We are also ideating on additional features for future releases, such as:
Integration with other Cosmos Hub services like Hydro for liquidity provision
Delegator discovery of consumer chains and their needs to delegate and redelegate
The ICS Launchpad represents a significant step towards our goal of making the Cosmos Hub the best place to launch a chain.
We started working on a new feature for ICS that allows anyone to permissionlessly launch an Opt-In consumer chain on the Cosmos Hub. Given that validators are free to choose whether they want to run a given Opt-In consumer chain, it is only natural to also enable projects to launch as an Opt-In consumer chain by simply submitting a transaction to the Cosmos Hub and, thus, avoiding the need to go through the process of governance for their chain launch. Note that Top N consumer chains will still need to go through governance.
We published a forum post outlining the motivations behind the feature and describing the high-level design. We want to thank everyone who participated in the discussion. We also started the signaling phase. We are currently working on an ADR that describes the architecture details.
We are thrilled to announce significant progress on Hydro, a key component of the ATOM Wars strategy. Hydro is a bidding and governance platform designed to enhance liquidity deployment across the Interchain. Here are the highlights:
Audit Completion:
Coordinated with Simply Staking, the third-party audit by Oak Security was successfully completed and funded through the community pool. The audit report will be published soon.
Platform Development:
We are developing a front-end platform for Hydro, enabling projects to bid for liquidity and users to lock their stATOM tokens to vote on these bids. Locking stATOM provides liquidity and earns tributes as rewards.
Launch Timeline:
Hydro, along with its user-friendly front-end, is currently looking to launch sometime in August.
Voting and Locking:
Users lock stATOM to acquire voting power, which they use to vote on projects, providing liquidity and earning tributes.
Bidding and tribute:
Projects bid for liquidity and offer tribute as rewards to attract votes.
Robust User Dashboard:
Users will be able to manage their lockups, track their voting power, monitor rewards, and view their voting history.
Hydro aims to optimize liquidity distribution and governance within the Cosmos ecosystem, attracting diverse projects and active participation from the ATOM-holder community.
In May, we published a signaling proposal for the technical specification to bring Bitcoin security from Babylon to the Cosmos Hub and its consumer chains. In June, we published a significant revision of that technical specification that was a result of the feedback we received from the community about the complexity of the previous design. The new design is much more streamlined as it entails deploying on Cosmos Hub the Babylon CosmWasm contract that enables a second validator set, whose power comes from staked Bitcoin, to provide finality and protect against double signing misbehavior. Note that ICS consumer chains that choose to use Babylon’s Bitcoin security will also need to install this CosmWasm contract.
We also successfully managed to connect the Cosmos Hub persistent testnet to Babylon’s Euphrates devnet.
This month's developments move us further toward our vision of making the Cosmos Hub the best place to launch a chain:
Enhanced Security and Flexibility:
The successful implementation of ICS 2.0 (Partial Set Security) gives consumer chains more options for joining Interchain Security, making the Hub an even more attractive platform for new projects.
Faster Innovation:
By aligning the Cosmos Hub with the latest versions of the Interchain Stack, we are enabling quicker feature adoption and more efficient upgrades, benefiting both developers and users.
Broader Participation:
The upcoming feature allowing inactive Hub validators to participate in consumer chains expands the validator base, enhancing decentralization and security across the ecosystem.
Simplified Chain Deployment:
The ICS Launchpad initiative streamlines the process of launching consumer chains, reducing barriers to entry and fostering innovation within the Cosmos ecosystem.
Optimized Liquidity:
With Hydro's imminent launch, ATOM holders will gain new capabilities to influence liquidity deployment, addressing a critical ecosystem need.
These advancements collectively reinforce the Cosmos Hub's role as the best place to launch and manage your project in the Interchain ecosystem. We are excited about the new capabilities these features bring and look forward to continued growth and innovation in the coming months.