DeFi By Design EP #126: Restaking and Liquid Staking in the Cosmos Ecosystem Unpacked

Restaking has grown significantly in the EVM land mindshare, yet people don't realize Cosmos has had restaking for a very long time. Liquid staking has also grown significantly in Cosmos thanks to help of several key players. Today, we'll explore the solutions Persistence One has to offer, and their recent launch of stkDYDX (liquid staked DYDX). The app chain philosophy of Cosmos allows for customization at the chain level, catering to specific needs and offering flexibility in validator selection. In this episode, we discussed the convergence of Cosmos and Ethereum, emphasizing Cosmos' pioneering concepts like IBC and chain abstraction. We also talked about the challenges faced by Cosmos in building network effects and ecosystems across its multiple chains were candidly addressed, providing a balanced perspective on the platform's growth. Moving on to Persistence, we touched on Persistence's focus on building an ecosystem for liquid staking tokens and its introduction of liquid staking in Cosmos, showcasing their commitment to innovation within the Cosmos network since day 1. We then delved into the differences in staking behavior between Cosmos and Ethereum as well as the challenges and trade-offs in the Cosmos ecosystem.