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Use Cases
Check out the 2 use cases for the Ethermint project. {synopsis}
Ethermint chain
The Ethermint blockchain provides Ethereum developers to deploy their smart contracts to the Ethermint EVM and get the benefits of a fast-finality Proof-of-Stake (PoS) chain. Developers will also benefit from highly-reliable clients from testnets can be used to test and deploy their contracts.
Ethermint will also offer built-in interoperability functionalities with other Cosmos and BFT chains by using IBC. Developers can also benefit from using a bridge network to enable interoperability between mainnet Ethereum and Ethermint.
EVM module dependency
The EVM module (aka x/evm) packaged inside Ethermint can be used separately as its own standalone module. This can be added as a dependency to any Cosmos chain, which will allow for smart contract support.
Importing EVM module can also enable use cases such as Proof-of-Authority (PoA) chains for enterprise and consortium projects. Every chain on Cosmos is an application-specific blockchain that is customized for the business logic defined by a single application. Thus, by using a predefined validator set and the EVM module as a dependency, enables projects with fast finality, interoperability as well as Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus.
Trade offs
Either option above will allow for fast finality, using a PoS consensus engine. Using the EVM module as a dependency will require the importing of the EVM and the maintaining of the chain (including validator sets, code upgrades/conformance, community engagement, incentives, etc), thus it incurs on a higher operation cost. The benefit of importing the EVM module to your chains is that it allows for granular control over the network and chain specific configurations/features that may not be available in the Ethermint chain such as developing a module or importing a third-party one.
Using Ethermint chain will allow for the direct deployment of smart contracts to the Ethermint network. Utilizing the Ethermint client will defer the chain maintenance to the Ethermint network and allow for the participation in a more mature blockchain. The Ethermint client will also offer (in the near future) IBC compatibility which allows for interoperability between different network.
| Ethermint Chain | x/evm dependency | |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Lower | Higher |
| Sovereignty (validator, config, params) | Lower | Higher |
| Storage requirements | Lower | Higher |
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Read the available Ethermint resources {hide}