ICS
All about Interchain Security (ICS) protocols
Last updated
All about Interchain Security (ICS) protocols
Last updated
Interchain Security refers to a family of shared security protocols within the . It enables the Cosmos Hub, the central chain in the ecosystem, to provide security to "consumer chains" through the concept of replicated security.
Interchain Security has the potential to grow the Cosmos ecosystem by allowing emerging projects (consumer chains) to bootstrap their economies securely. It lowers the barrier to launching secure sovereign decentralized chains, fostering innovation and attracting more projects to the ecosystem.
Interchain Security allows the Cosmos Hub to lease its robust security to consumer chains. This arrangement benefits ATOM token holders and validators who receive fees as a reward for providing security to the consumer chains. The increased adoption and usage of consumer chains can lead to value accrual for the ATOM token.
Replicated security, one form of Interchain Security, provides a future-proof economic model for the Cosmos Hub. Consumer chains can inherit the full security of the Cosmos Hub by utilizing the same validator set. This ensures a consistent level of security across the ecosystem, even as more consumer chains are added.
By leveraging replicated security, consumer chains can launch safely with reduced resource requirements. The cost of potential attacks on consumer chains is the same as attacking the Cosmos Hub itself, which is known for its high security due to its large market cap and billions of dollars staked in ATOM.
While replicated security is a significant milestone, there are limitations to the number of chains the Cosmos Hub can support. However, the article mentions the exploration of other security models such as Layered Security and Mesh Security, which could enable the scaling of Interchain Security to support a larger number of consumer chains.
Interchain Security in Cosmos enables the Cosmos Hub to provide security to consumer chains, fostering ecosystem growth, accruing value for the ATOM token, and offering a future-proof economic model. ICS lowers the resource requirements for launching secure chains and opens up new opportunities for growth.
Further resources
(Cosmos Blog)
(Github)
(Coinbase Art.)