2018-08-16 16:05:14 +00:00
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# Introduction
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2018-08-21 02:21:02 +00:00
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## What is Ethermint
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Ethermint is a high throughput PoS blockchain that is fully compatible and
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interoperable with Ethereum. In other words, it allows for running vanilla Ethereum
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on top of [Tendermint](https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint) consensus via
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the [Cosmos SDK](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/). This allows developers
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to have all the desired features of Ethereum, while at the same time benefit
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from Tendermint’s PoS implementation. Also, because it is built on top of the
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Cosmos SDK, it will be able to exchange value with the rest of the Cosmos Ecosystem.
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Here’s a glance at some of the key features of Ethermint:
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* Web3 compatibility
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* High throughput
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* Horizontal scalability
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* Transaction finality
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Ethermint enables these key features through:
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* Implementing Tendermint's ABCI application interface to manage the base Blockchain
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* Leveraging [modules](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/tree/master/x/) and other mechanisms implemented by the Cosmos SDK
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* Utilizing [`geth`](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum) as a library to avoid code reuse and improve maintainability
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* Exposing a fully compatible Web3 RPC layer for interacting with the system
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The sum of these features allows developers to leverage existing Ethereum ecosystem
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tooling and software to seamlessly deploy smart contracts which interact with the rest of the Cosmos
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ecosystem!
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## In-depth Topics
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2018-08-16 16:05:14 +00:00
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### Tendermint Core & the Application Blockchain Interface (ABCI)
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Tendermint consists of two chief technical components: a blockchain consensus
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engine and a generic application interface. The consensus engine, called
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Tendermint Core, ensures that the same transactions are recorded on every machine
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in the same order. The application interface, called the Application Blockchain
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Interface (ABCI), enables the transactions to be processed in any programming
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language.
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Tendermint has evolved to be a general purpose blockchain consensus engine that
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can host arbitrary application states. Since Tendermint can replicate arbitrary
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applications, it can be used as a plug-and-play replacement for the consensus
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engines of other blockchains. Ethermint is such an example of an ABCI application
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replacing Ethereum's PoW via Tendermint's consensus engine.
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Another example of a cryptocurrency application built on Tendermint is the Cosmos
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network. Tendermint is able to decompose the blockchain design by offering a very
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simple API (ie. the ABCI) between the application process and consensus process.
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