Cosmos (ATOM) vs Algorand (ALGO) | Which Is The Best Blockchain?
Mike Harry
Jul 2023
4 min to read
Fact checked
Introduction: Cosmos and Algorand are two major blockchain ecosystems that have gained significant attention from investors, developers and users alike. Cosmos is a permissionless network powered by the Tendermint consensus algorithm that interoperates via IBC and Algorand uses a novel consensus that will enable the network to scale to millions and 1000s of TPS. Both blockchains strive to address different challenges but how do they compare to each other?
Cosmos was first proposed in 2014 by Jae Kwon and Ethan Buchman. In 2016, the duo launched an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) which raised over $16 million from investors to fund the development of the platform.
The ICO led to the launch of Cosmos Hub in 2019, a proof-of-stake blockchain that one day may find itself as the main hub of the Cosmos ecosystem.
Cosmos Website
The Cosmos Hub created the Cosmos SDK which is an open-source software development kit that allows developers to easily build modular application-specific blockchains.
The Cosmos SDK also supports smart contracts and is powered by Tendermint, a Byzantine-Fault-Tolerant (BFT) Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus engine that allows for transaction finality within 1-2 seconds.
The Cosmos SDK provides developers with tools and libraries to make it easier to develop applications on the Cosmos blockchain.
One of these tools is the Inter Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC). IBC enables application-specific blockchains in the Cosmos ecosystem to connect to each other and perform secure and efficient cross-chain transactions between them.
Cosmos vs Algorand: What is Algorand (ALGO)?
Algorand is an open-source blockchain developed by Silvio Micali, a professor at MIT. It offers users a novel approach to consensus and scalability by leveraging cryptography and game theory in order to create a secure, decentralized network.
Algorand Website
Algorand has attracted more than $300 million in venture capital from a range of investors, including Borderless Capital, Union Square Ventures, Arrington Capital and many others.
Algorand is a permissionless, Proof-of-Stake blockchain that is designed to be simple and secure. Algorand’s consensus is based on the Byzantine Agreement protocol that uses a cryptographic sorting mechanism to randomly select the validator set.
Algorand uses a consensus mechanism called Pure Proof-of-Stake (PPoS) which requires a minimum of 1000 validators to process and validate all transactions.
Algorand also makes use of a “cryptographic clock” to ensure that transactions are processed in a fair and consistent manner.
By combining these features, Algorand provides strong security and strong performance with the ability to process up to 1200 transactions per second.
This makes Algorand well-suited for applications that require high throughputs, such as decentralized exchanges, payments, and trading.
Cosmos vs Algorand: Cosmos (ATOM) Tokenomics
ATOM is the native cryptocurrency of the Cosmos Hub and is used to pay transaction fees on the network and to incentivize network participants who contribute to the network.
The ATOM token is also used as a staking currency for validators who are tasked with maintaining the network and verifying transactions.
Outstanding Supply: 286M
Max Supply: Inflationary
Current Price: $10.22
Current Fully Diluted Marketcap: $2.9 billion
Cosmos vs Algorand: Algorand (ALGO) Tokenomics
The Algorand network is secured by the native cryptocurrency called the Algo (ALGO) token.
The token was launched through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2019 and is used to pay network fees and reward consensus participation.
The supply of ALGO tokens is capped at 10 billion coins which will gradually be released into circulation over a 30-year period.
Outstanding Supply: 7.1B ALGO Tokens
Max Supply: 10B ALGO Tokens
Current Price: $0.24
Current Marketcap: $2.4 billion
Cosmos vs Algorand: How To Buy Cosmos (ATOM)
The Cosmos ATOM token can be bought through a wide range of centralized and decentralised exchanges.
We recommend buying through Bybit (0.1% spot trading fees) and then withdrawing your ATOMs to a hardware wallet for security.
Cosmos vs Algorand: How to buy Algorand (ALGO)?
The ALGO token can also be bought via the Bybit exchange with very low transaction fees (0.1%).
For security reasons, we recommend not leaving your coins on any exchange after purchase.
The safest option is to use a hardware wallet like Ledger to securely store your assets offline. This removes risks such as exchange hacks or exchange bankruptcies.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal.
Author
Mike Harry
Mike is a passionate crypto enthusiast who bought his first Bitcoin in 2016. With a natural curiosity and a love for learning and tinkering, Mike is always trying out new DeFi applications. Mike excels at breaking down difficult concepts into easy-to-read guides for beginners.
