Cosmos Hub explores diverse security models, opening new paths for blockchain security strategies

Recently, the Cosmos Hub community has had a lively discussion about the joining mechanism of consumer chains. The product manager of Informal Systems proposed two new solutions in the forum, aimed at optimizing the existing inter-chain security model. This initiative reflects the active exploration of the Cosmos ecosystem in addressing the evolving blockchain security needs.

Currently, Cosmos Hub has introduced the "replicated security" mechanism through the V9 Lambda upgrade, enabling it to lease security to consumer chains such as Neutron and Stride. This mechanism requires each validator of Cosmos Hub to run every consumer chain, ensuring a high level of security, but it also brings some limitations.

To overcome these limitations, the community is considering two new joining schemes:

1. Permissionless solution based on transactions:

   • Developers can directly initiate the consumer chain by submitting transactions.
   • Validators can choose whether to join the new blockchain.
   • The advantage is strong openness, but it requires developers to actively communicate with validators.

2. Lightweight permissioned selective joining scheme:

   • Developers need to submit governance proposals to launch a new Blockchain.
   • Validators decide whether to participate through voting
   • Utilize the existing governance mechanism, but set a certain threshold.

In addition, the community also discussed the "Top-N" proposal, which requires that the top n% of concentrated validators must run a consumer chain, while other validators can choose freely. This proposal is further divided into inclusive and exclusive variants.

It is worth noting that different security solutions each have their advantages and disadvantages. Copy security provides the strongest protection but is relatively costly, selective inclusion schemes are more flexible but face security fluctuations, while emerging solutions like mesh security allow for enhanced cross-chain security.

In the future, Cosmos Hub may adopt a diversified security model, including a coexistence of various solutions such as replicated security, permissionless joining, and lightweight permission. This strategy not only meets the security needs of different consumer chains but also hopes to enhance the value capture capability of the ATOM token.

With the continuous development of Blockchain technology, the flexible and diverse security strategies of Cosmos Hub may become a new trend in the industry, providing important support for the healthy development of the entire ecosystem.