Last year, it seemed like every blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the rules which dictate how transactions get processed, had its time in the sun.
Layer 1s like Avalanche, Fantom, and Binance Smart Chain launched nine-figure growth funds to bootstrap their DeFi ecosystems.
Now, there’s a new EVM chain in town that was producing blocks as of Mar. 1 as part of the Cosmos ecosystem before stalling as of Mar. 6.
Called Evmos, it’s airdropping tokens to assorted stakeholders in the Cosmos and Ethereum ecosystems.
Rektdrop
In solidarity with those who have suffered major losses in the dark forest of web3, also known as those who have been “rekt,” Evmos is calling its airdrop the “Rektdrop.”
“The end goal of Evmos is to bring together the Cosmos and Ethereum community and thus the Rektdrop has been designed to reward past participation in both networks under this theme of ‘getting rekt,’” reads the post by Tharis about the drop.
Tharis developed Evmos and bills itself as building EVM and interoperability solutions on the Cosmos network. People will be able to claim the EVMOS token on Mar. 3, according to Evmos’ Twitter.
The Rektdrop rewards unique groups of users, ranging from people who voted on specific proposals with ATOM tokens, various users of the Osmosis chain, users of major Ethereum DeFi apps, and also people who used interchain bridges, according to Tharis’ post.
The Rektdrop will also go to people hit by major losses, such as Fei launch participants and the infamous Iron Finance fiasco.
What is Evmos?
Evmos is essentially a Layer 1, meaning it’s a smart contract platform, but will be interoperable with the rest of the Cosmos ecosystem through the Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC).
Evmos also looks to have some unique mechanics which differ from those of other Layer 1s. Instead of just being a token used to pay for transactions and stake in various protocols, EVMOS will be used to drive outcomes for the chain, namely useful apps.
“Typically block proposers accumulate the most shares of the network while users and developers — the most active participants — are left with less,” says Tharis’ post outlining EVMOS’ token model. “Block proposers” encompasses both miners in Proof-of-Work systems and validators in Proof-of-Stake ones.
Evmos’ token model aims to distribute value to the blockchains other non-block-proposing constituents — users and developers. With that in mind, when new tokens enter the system, 25% will go to what Tharis is calling “Usage Incentives.”
Usage incentives include a mechanism called “deferred gas rebates,” which will allow governance to reward users of Evmos smart contracts with the inflationary EVMOS tokens. Typically, block rewards only go to block producers.
Usage incentives also include a liquidity mining program, which rewards users for deposits in certain protocols, which will be run by governance.
Another novel feature of EVMOS is a “dApp Store,” which will partially redirect fees that would be burned under Ethereum’s EIP-1559 update.
In all, Evmos is a sign of continuing heat in the Cosmos ecosystem and a uniquely amicable approach to deploying an EVM chain, which is usually seen as being in direct competition with Ethereum.
Chain Paused
The Rektdrop went live on Mar. 3. However, many eligible users were unable to claim their tokens due to technical problems. The Evmos team released a thread addressing the issues.
On Mar. 6, the team tweeted that the Evmos network was undergoing an upgrade.
A little over an hour later, a subsequent tweet announced that the ‘network upgrade has unfortunately failed.’
The blockchain is currently paused with no transactions being processed.
While the team continues to work towards a solution, the response from the community has been mixed.
