Tendermint

Tendermint is now Ignite. Tendermint was a core contributor to the Cosmos network and created the Tendermint Core, Application BlockChain Interface (ABCI), and Cosmos SDK. The Cosmos network is an ecosystem of blockchains that can scale and interoperate with each other.One example is the Binance Chain that is built on forks of Tendermint Core and Cosmos SDK.

In February 2022, Tendermint, which has a DBA of All in Bits, Inc., rebranded to Ignite. A few months later, in May 2022, Tendermint announced the creation of two independent entities: Ignite and NewTindermint.

Also in February 2022, Tendermint announced that it would transition all Cosmos marketing and community initiatives and channels to the Interchain Foundation (ICF), in line with Tendermint's guiding principles of decentralization and collaboration.

On May 25, 2022, Tendermint announced the creation of Ignite, Inc. and NewTindermint, Inc.

Ignite is led by CEO Peng Zhong and will continue with its plans since rebranding in February 2022. Ignite will focus on product development, with Ignite CLI and Emeris as flagship products. All In Bits Inc., Ignite's parent company in which Jae Kwon holds a majority share, will only hold a minority stake in Ignite.

NewTendermint is led by the cofounder of the original Tendermint, Jae Kwon, and will focus on contributions to the Cosmos ecosystem core technology. The team will work on Jae Kwon’s existing project, Gno.land, the Tendermint2 project, and Cosmos SDK. Gno.land is a smart contracting platform, designed especially for wide-scale developer adoption, with the ambition to ultimately compete with Ethereum.

Tendermint created the Tendermint Core and the Application BlockChain Interface (ABCI) protocol.

Tendermint Core - BFT Consensus

ABCI

Tendermint Core is a consensus engine and is powered by the Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus model. The BFT model can tolerate less than one-third of the Byzantine validators to reach consensus, which means Tendermint Core tolerates up to one-third of machines failing arbitrarily, including explicitly malicious behavior.

Application Blockchain Interface (ABCI) is a set of ready-to-use methods for connecting the consensus engine to the application layer logic. Therefore, ABCI is the main component of the networking layer, and all the messages and transactions should be channeled through the ABCI. With the ABCI protocol, Tendermint Core supports state machines written in any programming language, making it possible for developers to choose a language that fits their needs Tendermint Core can also be used to replicate deterministic state machines onto computers anywhere. With Tendermint Core, a transaction is immediately finalized once it is included in a block, without any need for confirmations.

The Cosmos network is an ecosystem of blockchains that can scale and interoperate with each other. Cosmos SDK is a set of tools and frameworks that developers can use to build the application logic layer of a blockchain for the Cosmos network. It simplifies the process of building secure blockchain applications on top of Tendermint Core.Developers can use Cosmos SDK in conjunction with Tendermint Core and Application Blockchain Interface (ABCI) to leverage the existing functionalities of the consensus engine and networking layer of a blockchain.

Cosmos SDK also uses the Interblockchain communication (IBC) protocol so developers can build a blockchain of blockchains. Cosmos SDK has ready-to-use modules that developers can use in the application logic layer, including transactions, storage, cryptography, governance, tokens, wallets, and balances.

Cosmos SDK

Tendermint, a DBA of All in Bits, was founded in 2014 by Jae Kwon with Ethan Buchman joining in 2015 after the two met at the Cryptocurrency Research Group and Crypto-economics Conference.

In 2016, Jae Kwon and Ethan Buchman published the Cosmos whitepaper: "Cosmos: A Network of Distributed Ledgers." Later that year, Cosmos won the Shanghai International Blockchain Week "Most Innovative Project" award, and Tendermint won the contract to run the first BFT blockchain voting system for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Also in 2016, the Interchain Foundation (ICF) was formed to support the development of Cosmos and engaged Tendermint to build Cosmos. In 2017, the Interchain Foundation (ICF) raised $16.8 million for Cosmos within thirty minutes, making it one of the most successful blockchain-based fundraising events in history.

Jae Kwon stepped down as the company’s CEO in 2020 to focus on Gno.Land, his competitor to Ethereum. In February 2022, Tendermint rebranded to Ignite. In May 2022, Tendermint announced the creation of two independent entities: Ignite and NewTindermint. Also in February 2022, Tendermint announced that it would transition all Cosmos marketing and community initiatives and channels to the Interchain Foundation (ICF).