[PROPOSAL ###] [DRAFT] Add Evmos as a Consumer Chain

[Jacques_Xu]

This is a proposal to launch Evmos as an opt-in consumer chain. Opt-in consumer chains are intended to be launched permissionlessly, but in this version of ICS, a permissionless launch is not yet possible for technical reasons involving the chain_id. If you are interested, read more here.

This proposal is NOT intended to judge whether the chain is worthwhile to use or validate. Since it is an opt-in consumer chain, no validator is obligated to run it, and any validator can opt in or out its validator set at any time. Validators who do not feel that the chain is worthwhile are encouraged simply not to run it.

Executive Summary:

Evmos aims to develop and deliver essential tools for creating cross-chain applications, liberating developers from the limitations of isolated blockchains.

By enhancing the EVM, Evmos enables cross-chain applications that utilize the liquidity and user bases of multiple blockchain ecosystems, offering a unified experience.

The robustness of Evmos technology is evident in the numerous forks of Ethermint and the quality of evmOS partners.

While there has been significant interest from projects like Aave, a current lack of liquidity and challenges in accessing liquidity in the broader Cosmos have caused hesitation. This stems from the lack of composability between Evmos dApps and the rest of the Cosmos.

In collaboration with our partners at Cosmos Hub, Atom Accelerator DAO (AADAO), and the Cosmos Hub Core Team at Informal Systems, we propose leveraging Interchain Security for Evmos. This strategy aims to provide a robust foundation to attract major protocols, unlocking the full potential enabled by Evmos and Cosmos technology and driving growth for Evmos and the broader Cosmos ecosystem.

1. Moving towards ICS (Interchain Security).

Adopting Interchain Security (ICS) allows Evmos to transition from its independent validator set to a partial set of the Cosmos Hub’s validators. This strategic move enables Evmos to tap into the most reliable infrastructure within the Cosmos ecosystem. By leveraging the robust and established validators of the Cosmos Hub, Evmos can enhance its security, reliability, and overall network performance.

For ATOM holders and validators, this integration offers significant benefits. Securing Evmos increases the utility and demand for ATOM, reinforcing its value proposition within the Cosmos ecosystem. Additionally, validators and stakers on the Cosmos Hub will have the opportunity to earn additional rewards by participating in the security of Evmos, diversifying their income streams. This move also strengthens the security of Evmos while fostering growth across the entire Cosmos ecosystem. As Evmos attracts more applications and users, increased transaction volumes and usage can positively impact the value of ATOM and the overall health of the ecosystem.

This transition not only boosts confidence among developers and users but also lays a solid foundation for major protocols to deploy on Evmos, driving further growth and innovation within the broader Cosmos ecosystem.

2. Addressing Liquidity Challenges

The Cosmos Hub will soon introduce the Hydro system, a new governance and auction platform developed by the Informal team. Hydro allows projects to bid for deployments of ATOM (and other tokens) liquidity, managed for the benefit of all ATOM holders.

Under current plans, at least 30% of Hydro’s liquidity will be allocated to ICS chains.

Evmos is uniquely positioned to make effective use of this liquidity. Allocation from Hydro will enable us to attract major protocols to deploy on Evmos, addressing one of their primary concerns: the current lack of liquidity on the chain. Through Hydro, Evmos can significantly enhance its liquidity, providing a more robust and attractive environment for developers and users.

For ATOM holders, directing Hydro liquidity to Evmos offers several benefits. It leverages Evmos’ potential to drive substantial growth and usage, thereby increasing the overall transaction volumes within the Cosmos ecosystem. This increased activity can enhance the utility and demand for ATOM, positively impacting its value. Additionally, successful deployments on Evmos can serve as a model for other ICS chains, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Hydro system and bolstering the entire Cosmos network.

We believe that with its innovative approach and strategic position within the ecosystem, Evmos is a deserving candidate for Hydro liquidity, poised to drive growth and deliver value to ATOM holders.

3. Creating EVM and Cosmos Composability

Neutron has demonstrated the power of integrated cross-chain interactions by enabling CosmWasm contracts to natively register accounts, transact, and query other networks over IBC. However, CosmWasm, while powerful, has limitations in terms of developer adoption and familiarity compared to EVM and Solidity, which remain the de facto standards for dApp development. This meant major protocols wanting to take advantage of innovation in Cosmos would need to rewrite and maintain a completely different codebase.

With Evmos on ICS, protocol developers would be able deploy once on Evmos, but make their contract interfaces available on all connected Cosmos Hub chains. Making it feel as if the entire Cosmos ecosystem is one unified network, thereby significantly enhancing composability and interoperability across the ecosystem.

To accomplish this, Evmos on ICS will implement Interchain Outposts and Cross-Chain Workflows, which will allow for the seamless use of contracts via IBC, powered by ADR-008 for both Interchain Transfers (ICS20) and Interchain Accounts (ICA).

Under this new model, blue-chip projects like Aave will be able to maintain their development roadmap while accessing the growing assets in the Cosmos space.

Aave on Evmos (on ICS) will enable the creation of a cross-chain lending and borrowing market without modifying the core Aave code. Cosmos chains can initiate IBC transfers to Evmos and, with the correct memo information, trigger operations on the Aave protocol on Evmos, enabling seamless bidirectional cross-chain interactions and capital flow.

Evmos presents a unique opportunity to become the first ICS-powered EVM chain. This will facilitate access for well-established protocols to the vast capital within the Cosmos Hub and the broader Interchain ecosystem. By supporting Evmos, ATOM holders can help drive innovation, increase network usage, and enhance the overall value of the Cosmos ecosystem.

4. Next Steps

1. On-chain proposal on Evmos chain
2. Technical implementation and testing by Evmos Core team
3. On-chain proposal on Cosmos Hub
4. Transition into ICS

Proposed Chain Parameters

• Type: Opt-in
• AllowList:
• DenyList:
• NumberCap:
• PowerCap:

We will be evaluating the different chain parameters as part of our testing phase, and will update with the exact details in on this post before our On-chain proposal.

Optimistically, if all goes to plan, we could complete this transition in two month’s time.

5. Closing

Supporting Evmos on ICS not only propels the growth and innovation of the Cosmos ecosystem but also strengthens the value and utility of ATOM. By leveraging Hydro’s liquidity and enhancing cross-chain composability, Evmos can attract major protocols, drive substantial network activity, and deliver significant benefits to ATOM holders. With the support of our partners from AADAO, Informal, the Cosmos Hub, and the Cosmos community, we believe this can be the catalyst needed to kick the Cosmos ecosystem into high gear. Together, we can unlock the full potential of both Evmos and the Cosmos Hub, creating a more interconnected and thriving blockchain landscape.

Governance Votes

• Vote YES if you believe that this consumer chain is being started by Evmos’s real development team, is not squatting on a chain_id commonly recognized as belonging to another chain, and is not launching a large number of consumer chain proposals to spam governance.
• Voting NO has no purpose. Voters who feel that this chain is impersonating another chain or that this proposal is part of a spam attack should vote NO WITH VETO
• Vote NO WITH VETO if this consumer chain is impersonating another chain, is “squatting” on an existing chain’s chain_id, or is part of a spam attack.
• Vote ABSTAIN if you are not sure. However, the criteria above are quite clear, and in most cases it should be easy to decide whether to veto a consumer chain launch because of impersonation or spam.

[tknox35]

Evmos is a good test case for the value that a move to PSS could (as of now, theoretically) provide. Applaud the move to align closer with the Hub.

[serejandmyself]

Makes perfect sense from the perspective of a validator of both networks. Seems Stride and Evmos will lead ICS

[Govmos]

On behalf of the PRO Delegators’ validator, we would like to present a preliminary positive response to this proposal. We will adjust our final approval based on the parameters the chain will use in the final proposal and most importantly the revenue share.

It’s important to acknowledge that there have been noticeable concentration in the supply distribution, which have led to significant challenges since the Evmos chain’s inception. Switching to a shared security model would be the perfect occasion to remedy this issue. Given our extensive experience in this domain, we are more than willing to offer suggestions to rectify this situation and help the Evmos chain reach its full potential, feel free to reach out via private message or directly via contact@pro-delegators.com.

Welcome back home!
Govmos.

[H4Ark]

Evmos used to change several time his mind concerning its affiliation in Cosmos family. Sometimes, we felt there were no possible coming back (Keplr integration vs Metamask as an example - which was a huge symbol) .
What can you tell us that would ensure that this is not yet another change of mind ?

[Jacques_Xu]

Thanks tknox35,

Yes we do believe that moving to PSS could be very positive for Evmos as it would allow us to reduce our cost of security and infrastructure, giving us an opportunity to reduce our inflation rate while maintaining or exceeding the level of performance of the chain.

[Jacques_Xu]

Thanks for the continued support Serej!

[Jacques_Xu]

Feels good to be home! Though we’ve never really left

I’ll reach out via the email shortly; always happy to get feedback on how we might be able to improve in all areas.

[Jacques_Xu]

Hey H4Ark,

Thank you for your question.

It sounds like you’re referring to the decision to abstract Cosmos transaction support on Evmos. That was a case of miscommunication on our part.

The choice to discontinue support for Cosmos transaction formats on Evmos was made for technical reasons, allowing us to focus on enhancing our EVM and EVM-to-Cosmos interactions. However, it’s important to note that Evmos has never truly ‘left’ the Cosmos ecosystem. Our chain continues to maintain open IBC channels, and we are more committed than ever to improving interoperability between EVM and Cosmos applications.

We appreciate your understanding and support as we continue to develop our platform.

[Shotanate]

Passage of PSS quite some time ago signals theoretical support of consumer chains. However, to put this support into practice, the community should welcome the chains like Evmos to launch as cosnumer chains.

There are several reasons why the Cosmos community decided to adopt PSS.

Choice: PSS allows validators to choose whether or not to secure a particular chain, unlike Replicated Security (RS) where validation is mandatory for all chains. This provides flexibility for the validator to reallocate resources to chains that align with its expertise and preferences while removing the unnecessary costs of validating sub-optimal ones.

Commission Rate Flexibility: Validators can choose different commission rates for each consumer chain it validates under PSS, thus covering expenses specific to those chains, without affecting their Cosmos Hub commission rate. This would not only allow validators to manage their resources more efficiently and cultivate fair compensation but also use their market share and established reputation to propose a competitive rate and secure more delegation. Commission rate flexibility benefits delegators as well because competition is poised to bring prices down, translating into attractive yields for users.

Top-n Feature: Assuming that consumer chains would strive to keep at least 50% of Cosmos Hub security, most of the validators would have the opportunity to validate the majority of the ledgers, while users will have the ability to make strategic tradeoffs between security and other variables such as yield and scalability.

Early opportunities: As the Cosmos Hub evolves, new use cases and markets will be brought on-chain by consumer chains. Permissionless launch would streamline this process and present validators and users with frequent and innovative candidates to choose from. This can be an opportunity for the community to identify promising consumer chains early on and capture new use cases, staking surfaces, and tokens for future rewards.

From chain’s perspective, they can set up specific validator configurations to match their unique needs through the following features:

• Whitelists and blacklists: Consumer chains can choose to exclude certain validators, or propose to only include others (if they were to opt in).

• Power cap: Consumer chains can impose a cap on the amount of power a large validator can migrate to their ledger. For instance, they could set it so that no validator could have more than 20% of the power on their chain, even if some validators were much larger than others.

• Active set: A consumer chain can opt for a smaller active set compared to the Hub’s active set to improve performance via faster consensus and easier governance.

It would be interesting to wait until Evmos’s testing phase finishes to see what Chain Parameters they will decide to choose.