Cosmos Fork Discussion Sparks AtomOne (ATOM1) Airdrop Hype 

On Nov. 26, Jae Kwon posted an update on the forking of Cosmos Hub to create a new chain called AtomOne.

There has been significant disagreement in the Cosmos community over issues like tokenomics, funding, and the Hub’s core purpose.

Moreover, the discussion follows the passing of proposal #848, which reduces ATOM’s inflation rate from 14% to 10% and annualized staking yield from 19% to around 13.4%. 

Now listen up Cosmonauts. Despite our voting NWV #848 has ended up passing, something that isn’t too surprising (though it would be good to know whether the later votes came from newly purchased atoms) @cosmos @Allinbits_inc #raptureparty #atomone

Now let’s coordinate a split.

— antechristus #343 (@jaekwon) November 25, 2023

AtomOne Genesis

Various advantages and disadvantages were laid out in a document on the genesis of AtomOne. 

The vision is that AtomOne can guide the Cosmos Hub towards safer decisions while itself serving as a more conservative and immutable alternative hub option. 

Kwon expressed concern about a new token eroding the properties of the existing token:

“I believe that the final plan should include an integration of ATOM and ATOM/ATOM1 so that instead of mass selling ATOM and collapsing it all, we allow participation from ATOM.”

AtomOne has several goals, including championing sovereignty, security, and decentralization principles. It will also serve as a base for governance to steer Cosmos Hub decisions and support a diversity of groups and ideas across the ecosystem while reducing risks. 

AtomOne would also offer liquid staking for ATOM tokens to use voting power to guide Cosmos.

DeFi researcher John Galt opined that the fork would “probably result in the biggest ATOM airdrop ever.”

Most of the ATOM1 allocation would go to ATOM stakers pro-rata amount, he suggested. 

“For years, political tension has impeded development of Cosmos Hub. Most notably when the ATOM 2.0 proposal was vetoed in the Fall of 2022,” he said before adding “Without Jae’s conservatism, Cosmos Hub could be more innovative.”

1/8 @JaeKwon, the founder of Cosmos, has declared he will lead a fork of @CosmosHub.

If the fork happened, it would probably result in the biggest ATOM airdrop ever. And it would resolve years of political tension – very bullish for Cosmos Hub.

What you need to know 🧵 pic.twitter.com/aqM4CJccC1

— John Galt (@lurkaroundfind) November 26, 2023

At the moment, the fork is just speculative, and it is unclear whether it will actually come to fruition. 

The Cosmos Hub is the primary blockchain within the interlinked Cosmos network, and ATOM is used for governance, staking, and network fees.

ATOM Price Outlook 

ATOM prices jumped on Sunday following the passing of proposal #848. The Cosmos Hub governance token hit a weekly high of just under $10 before retreating slightly.

The asset is currently trading at $9.56, down 2.5% on the day. 

Furthermore, ATOM has gained 34% over the past months as altcoins begin their recovery. However, the asset remains down 78.5% from its January 2022 all-time high of $44.45.