Cosmos (ATOM) course: history and analysis
The Cosmos network is considered the fourth generation of blockchains, and its native cryptocurrency, ATOM, is among the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Market entry and DeFi boom (2019 — 2021)
The ATOM cryptocurrency entered the market in March 2019. At the time of listing, the Cosmos altcoin's price was $6.62, and its market capitalization was $714 million, which is quite large.
However, after listing on exchanges, the price of the ATOM cryptocurrency began to fall almost immediately and almost halved to $3.63 in just a week. This could be due to both too high a price on the listing and unfavorable market conditions at the time.
The price of the ATOM cryptocurrency continued to fall, and by September 2019, it had dropped to an all-time low of $2.13. After a long correction, the Cosmos rate began to recover, and this continued until February 2020, when its price reached $4.83.
In March, the ATOM price corrected again — to $3.62. The fall was aggravated by the general collapse of the crypto market caused by the official announcement of the WHO about the beginning of the pandemic. The collapse of altcoins followed the fall of Bitcoin: as a result, the value of the cryptocurrency ATOM fell more than three times to $1.13, updating the historical minimum, which is still in place.
After the actions of regulators and government agencies aimed at supporting the economy of the U.S. and other major countries, investors again paid attention to cryptocurrencies, so almost immediately after the collapse of their quotes began to grow. By August 2020, the value of the cryptocurrency Cosmos had already risen to $8.19, reaching a new all-time high (ATH). In August, the growth was most rapid, as the Cosmos team was among the developers of the Anchor protocol, around which, at that time, there was excitement amid the boom of the decentralized finance market (DeFi).
However, ATOM quotes fell more than 2-fold by September to $3.85. Until the end of 2020, there were no significant fluctuations in the ATOM rate, and the price eventually reached $4.78.
In 2021, a new wave of growth began in the crypto market, also associated with the DeFi boom. Moreover, Cosmos was one of the key projects in this segment, and its ecosystem actively attracted liquidity. In February, the value of the ATOM cryptocurrency reached a new all-time high of $25.17. After a series of corrections and rebounds in May, the Cosmos altcoin rate renewed its ATH, reaching $28.71.
A natural correction followed, and by June 2021, the ATOM cryptocurrency's rate fell by more than 2.5 times to $9.52. After that, the crypto market began to recover, and the quotes of many cryptocurrencies, including ATOM, were rapidly growing. In September, the value of ATOM rose to $44.70 — this level remains the absolute maximum as of January 2025. In November, the ATOM exchange rate repeated its attempt to renew its ATH but only reached $42.89.
Global correction in the crypto market (2022 — 2023)
Against the background of the general correction in the crypto market, the value of the Cosmos cryptocurrency fell more than 2 times to $21.50. However, despite the general negative background on the crypto market, in early 2022, the ATOM rate began to grow rapidly. This was due, in particular, to the rapid liquidity growth of one of the key DeFi protocols in the Cosmos ecosystem, namely the decentralized exchange (DEX) Osmosis. In January, the ATOM cryptocurrency's exchange rate rose to $43.61, just below its all-time high.
Rapid growth was followed by a strong correction, as investors switched to other cryptocurrencies at that moment. Already by March of the same year, the value of the Cosmos cryptocurrency fell to $31.37, and in May, to a yearly low of $9.69, which is more than 4.5 times lower relative to the absolute maximum. This correction was exacerbated by the collapse of Terra, one of the leading blockchain ecosystems at the time.
In June, after a small rebound, the fall continued, and the ATOM rate reached $6.36. However, it immediately began to recover and, by September, reached $16.61, despite the general negative background in the crypto market. According to analysts, this growth is due to the migration of DeFi protocols from the failed Terra ecosystem to Cosmos Hub.
By the end of 2022, the ATOM cryptocurrency rate corrected to $8.58, which, in particular, is associated with another negative event — the bankruptcy of one of the leading crypto exchanges, FTX, which led to the collapse of quotes for most cryptocurrencies.
After rebounding and rising to $14.99 in February, the price of the Cosmos cryptocurrency continued to correct and fell to $6.72 by October 2023, reaching a one-year low.
A new wave of growth (2024 — 2025)
At the end of 2023, the crypto market began to recover again, and the number of quotes for many cryptocurrencies rose. By March 2024, the value of the ATOM cryptocurrency reached an annual high of $13.92.
However, it soon began to fall again against the backdrop of a key Fed rate hike, negative economic data on U.S. markets, and geopolitical tensions. In April, the value of ATOM fell to $8.13. According to experts, the correction could have been related to the uncertainty associated with the upcoming hard fork of the Cosmos network at that time.
However, the fall continued in the summer of 2024 as large sales added pressure to cryptocurrency quotes. This was caused by the German government's sale of 50,000 bitcoins and the distribution of funds to affected lenders Mt. Gox and Genesis Global. Plus, uncertainty over the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election had an impact.
By November, the value of the ATOM cryptocurrency had almost halved to $4.09, reaching a three-year low. However, after Trump won the election, cryptocurrencies, including ATOM, resumed their rise. In December 2024, the ATOM price rose to a local high of $10.13, followed by a natural correction, a common phenomenon during the pre-New year's holiday season.
As of January 2025, the price of the ATOM cryptocurrency is $6.58, and its market capitalization is $2.57 billion.