Chains & networks
Cosmos: a framework is not one shared security guarantee
Independent chains can communicate while retaining different validator and governance risks.
Research articles and reference entries are published in English. Navigation is available in seven languages.
People & projects
In this article
The Cosmos SDK is used to build application-specific blockchains. Interoperability protocols connect chains, but a software framework does not give every deployment the same validators, governance or asset backing.
Follow the asset across the route
A transferred asset may be represented through a particular channel and path. The receiving representation depends on that route and its verification assumptions. A currency symbol alone is an incomplete identifier.
When evaluating a chain, identify its validator set, economic security, upgrade process and the parties operating important infrastructure. Some deployments use shared-security arrangements; others rely on their own. Describe the actual arrangement instead of saying simply that Cosmos secures it.
Application-specific chains can concentrate economic activity in one protocol. A problem in that application may then affect much of the local economy. Interoperability can carry liquidity across chains while also transmitting stress through collateral and asset dependencies. See contagion for the economic side.
Sources
Research checked 5 September 2026. Historical cases retain the date and legal status of the cited record.