This article introduces the Kava Network, a layer-1 blockchain that integrates Ethereum and Cosmos. Cosmos brings an unprecedented level of interoperability to blockchain networks.
Kava Pillars
Kava is a combination of Ethereum smart contract capabilities, Cosmos interoperability, and the Tendermint consensus engine. For a recap on the benefits of Cosmos, check out our article on another project Evmos [here]. Kava is essentially a Defi hub for the masses allowing lending, borrowing, and yield farming. The important thing to take away from the Evmos article is the strengths that a Cosmos integration provides. Let’s focus on the three pillars of Kava for simplicity.
Ethereum Smart Contract Development: An Ethereum virtual machine allows developers who are comfortable with the Ethereum coding language to build on a familiar system. Kava has Metamask integration but provides more scalability and extra Cosmos security.
Cosmos Interoperability: The Cosmos integration allows for a connection to 60 + billion dollars of value across over 30 Cosmos blockchains. Remember, any blockchain building on Cosmos immediately gains access to the other blockchains built upon the IBC. One of the largest integrations is with the BNB blockchain which has massive volume and user interest.
Tendermint Consensus: Utilizing the Cosmos Tendermint Consensus engine, Kava is able to scale indefinitely. Tendermint is proof-of-stake which requires much less energy than proof-of-work, and the engine has 1 second transaction finality. [1]
Defi Hub
Bringing Cosmos interoperability to the already 5 billion dollars of total-value locked during a bear market, Kava is poised for success. As Cosmos integrates with more and more coding languages and blockchain networks, the Defi hub will grow immensely. Kava has a minting protocol for its other token USDX. USDX is an overcollaterlized stablecoin, this simply means that the collateral provided to mint USDX is always of greater value than the borrowed/minted funds. Minting and unminting always charges a small fee to the user which is charged in Kava tokens creating a need for the token.
Since Kava is decentralized, users can see a transparent history of current collateral on the market, unlike many popular stable coins who continue to have transparency concerns. Kava has a lending protocol much like Aave, a swapping protocol like Uniswap, and many other applications including gaming, wallets, and more. As Cosmos integrates more chains with the Tendermint consensus and Cosmos IBC, the value brought to the Kava protocol will grow.
Developer Incentives
Kava has a 750-million-dollar developer incentive known as “Kava Rise”. Kava allows developers to build using Ethereum coding language or the Cosmos developer kit. Giving developers the choice is likely to draw more attention over time. Cosmos has also been known to reduce developer headaches since the coding language is simple and easy to use. Cosmos also allows users to integrate almost any coding style to build with the Tendermint consensus layer.
Kava reserves 60% of its inflationary rewards for developers directly through the decentralized incentive smart contracts. The other 40% is reserved for the stakers of the Kava token itself. This essentially makes the developers the owners of the protocol and further incentivizes them to continue to build and take ownership of the protocol as a cohort. Happy developers are more likely to attract new developers to the blockchain.
Since developers can take their already built Ethereum application and simply integrate Cosmos, they can achieve rewards simply by moving over. Kava is currently working on a Bitcoin blockchain integration. The network is also working on liquid staking of the Kava token, which really ramps up the credit in the markets which is powerful during upswings. Kava is working on the full integration of the Binance Smart Chain bridge as well which will provide massive liquidity for all users. Please stay tuned for our review of the KAVA token itself, we will review fundamental analysis including token economics and more. Remember none of this is financial advice, stay safe out there!
