Really incredible to see the progress on Hydro as a product - Informal Systems has done a great job paving the way expanding the Cosmos Hubs offering beyond just security, and I think the broader Cosmos is starting to get excited about bidding on ATOM (in more ways than one).
Hydro has shown a couple of core competencies that I think are in line with this new era of Cosmos Hub:
- Rapid shipping - iteration loops are fast, and community feedback is taken in real time (recommend joining the telegram channel here)
- A product people want (multiple protocols participating, more to come)
- Solves a problem - protocols want more ATOM liquidity, and it can be hard to source it directly from the open market in size
- Meaningful roadmap - the addition of vote optimizers, automated hedging, insurance premiums, advanced data gathering for optimized LP, Valence integrations, etc. are all key to turning Hydro into something industry leading
- Omnichain in nature - any mature project can participate, and Hydro invites non-ICS projects to be able to interact with the Cosmos Hub
- Active governance participation: ATOM holders gain a direct role in shaping the network’s future by voting on liquidity deployments, fostering a more engaged community.
- Meaningful economic rewards: strategic liquidity allocations can generate returns for the ATOM community, potentially increasing the value of ATOM holdings.
Fully in support of Hydro and this proposal, I believe Hydro is going to be a mission critical part of the Cosmos Hub Renaissance of 2025. And while there may be some minutiae to work through on some of the details of funding or entities, I view Hydro through the lens of optimism & excitement that the Cosmos Hub is here to build products that people want.
Additionally, I think it is worth asking the question of “…how much value will Hydro provide to Cosmos Hub over the course of the next 5 years…” as I think it can help recalibrate on how people think about the capital being requested by the builders here. (Hint: value created is capable of being $100M+ imo).
We want a highly motivated and skilled team running full steam ahead on Hydro. I’d encourage us to not break that dynamic.