Cosmos (ATOM)
Summary
Cosmos is a Layer 1 blockchain protocol and interoperability hub founded by Jae Kwon and Ethan Buchman, with its mainnet launching in March 2019. The project pioneered the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, enabling sovereign blockchains to transfer assets and data across networks. While the protocol has broad institutional adoption and a large ecosystem, it has faced material governance controversies, a serious security incident involving alleged North Korean developer contributions to its Liquid Staking Module, leadership fragmentation, and persistent concerns over the Interchain Foundation's financial transparency.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigations- + 12 more
Timeline(23 events)
2020-02-04
Jae Kwon announces departure as Tendermint CEO; Zaki Manian accuses him of evading responsibility.
CoinDesk2021-08-01
Zaki Manian begins building the Liquid Staking Module (LSM), engaging developers later identified as North Korean actors.
CryptoSlate2022-05-25
Jae Kwon returns to lead NewTendermint, deepening organizational split with Ignite.
CoinDesk2022-07-01
Oak Security audit of the LSM identifies severe vulnerabilities including slashing-evasion mechanism; alleged North Korean developers fix the flagged issues.
CryptoSlate2022-10-13
Ethan Buchman discloses a critical vulnerability affecting all IBC-enabled Cosmos chains; patch released the following day.
CoinTelegraph2023-03-01
FBI allegedly notifies Zaki Manian that LSM developers have ties to North Korea.
CryptoSlate2023-09-01
Liquid Staking Module integrated into Cosmos Hub, with 19 months of unaudited code changes, allegedly without disclosure of DPRK developer ties.
Cryptopolitan2023-11-27
Governance Proposal 848 passes, reducing maximum ATOM inflation from 20% to 10%. Jae Kwon announces AtomOne fork in response.
CoinDesk2024-02-27
All in Bits launches GovGen blockchain and distributes GovGen token to wallets that voted no on Proposal 848.
The Block2024-10-02
Zaki Manian publicly acknowledges he was aware of North Korean developer connections to the LSM since March 2023.
CryptoSlate2024-10-15
All in Bits issues emergency public alert about North Korean actor involvement in the Cosmos Hub LSM.
Daily Hodl2024-10-16
Cosmos developers begin procedures to remove the Liquid Staking Module from the Hub.
CryptoSlate2025-01-01
Cosmos Labs formed after Interchain Foundation acquires Skip protocol team; IBC v2 (Eureka) with ZK bridge to Ethereum development underway.
Gate.comDecision Log
- #1publish⛓ pending8/11/2026, 12:14:26 PMhash: 9ma6p7KmA8FFagrsR5nnV2TYwcjpiQ33vqQRmc4yhrB5
16 of 19 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 8/11/2026, 12:14:06 PM
last updated: 8/12/2026, 8:04:32 AM
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