Cosmos must prioritize rebuilding confidence, develop a clear vision, start from the user's perspective, and empower developers.

Author: Arjun | LI.FI, Bankless

Compiled by Felix, PANews

Cosmos is at a crossroads in its development, and this pioneering blockchain is losing community support.

The reasons are as follows:

Old debts of governance issues

The Interchain Foundation (ICF), which is responsible for supervising the Cosmos ecosystem, has seen a decline in community trust due to allegations of mismanagement, conflicts of interest, and lack of transparency.

These are more than just rumors. The recent lack of trust statement against ICF, as well as the call for a comprehensive audit and leadership reform, have highlighted the severity of these issues.

This lack of transparency may indicate deeper issues within the ecosystem. Operational and organizational rigidity leads to low morale among developers and users, who are concerned about endless delays and bureaucratic obstacles in daily development.

In addition, there is an increasing disconnect between ecosystem builders and users. Builders are obsessed with pushing the boundaries of technology, which is a noble pursuit in theory, but many feel that they have somewhat forgotten about the people (users) who actually use these things.

The core issue is the intangibility of Cosmos, which makes it difficult to resonate with users. This lack of clarity leads to more demands from users for the ecosystem.

Advantages turn into disadvantages

In shaping the future of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain development, Cosmos has always been at the forefront. It pioneered the vision of 'AppChain', which is now at the core of modular blockchain theory and blockchain sovereignty.

However, the leading advantage of Cosmos no longer exists today. The rise of Rollups on Ethereum and Celestia provides developers with choices similar to Cosmos AppChain. Importantly, these solutions also have the additional advantages of mature communities and deeper liquidity pools.

Essentially, Cosmos has fallen behind in the once leading competition.

Developers are pragmatic. They want the flexibility that Cosmos provides, but also crave the thriving ecosystem effects of Ethereum and Celestia.

In the final analysis, the success of Cosmos depends on its ability to create tangible value for users and cultivate a thriving application ecosystem. If Cosmos fails to effectively address the challenges it currently faces, the community may see this period as a missed opportunity.

With its leading advantage and visionary roadmap, Cosmos has the potential to dominate the multi-chain field. However, without the necessary execution, this potential cannot be realized.

Crossroads

"Break free from the shackles of history and embrace the future."

The Cosmos ecosystem is undoubtedly at a crossroads. Internal disputes, Token declines, and low community morale paint a bleak picture. People unconsciously see Cosmos as a failed experiment.

But please do not replay history. The core technology and vision of Cosmos are groundbreaking. They have inspired numerous projects and laid the foundation for the industry's future development.

For Cosmos, the current situation is not a dead end, but a fork in the road. These are not insurmountable challenges. If Cosmos can solve these problems, it can emerge from this crisis stronger than ever before.

The path forward needs to be adjusted. Studying ecosystems such as Ethereum, Solana, and Celestia can provide valuable references. These ecosystems have proven to be very important in demonstrating the following points:

• Governance and trust: transparency and accountability are essential foundations. Rebuilding trust is a top priority for ICF. Trust needs to be rebuilt bit by bit.
• follow users: Everything starts with the users. Without a seamless user experience, Cosmos is just a beautiful 'ghost town'. Each team should prioritize building products that directly benefit users.
• Empower developers: Provide developers with tools and freedom to create killer applications. Great technology deserves killer applications. Actively introduce the Cosmos stack to developers and attract a wider range of projects.
• Clear vision: Compelling narrative is crucial. Cosmos must articulate its unique value proposition: What problem are you solving? Why should people care?

Cosmos still has a chance to catch up, but now is the time to take action.