Cosmos launches Inter-Blockchain Communication to enable cross-chain DeFi

The self-described “Internet of Blockchains,” Cosmos, has launched its Inter-Blockchain Communication standard, or IBC, enabling crypto assets to be transferred easily between independent blockchains.

Comos’ IBC went live on Monday, enabling token transfers between Cosmos and other IBC-compatible blockchains.

The feature, which has been in development for five years, was voted in via community governance with 112 million votes supporting the activation and 75 million opposed.

Over a two-week period, the Cosmos proposal needed to secure at least 512 ATOM tokens deposited in support of it for voting to proceed. The number of tokens an individual or group holds determines how much influence their vote will have on the outcome of a proposal.

Cosmos asserted that IBC facilitates new applications by utilizing both fungible and nonfungible tokens between chains, and paving the way for cross-chain exchanges and NFT marketplaces.

Today @Cosmos has enabled Inter-Blockchain Communication (#IBC) transfers on the Cosmos Hub, making it possible for sovereign blockchains to transfer digital assets (tokens) and data b/w one another.The Interchain era has begunhttps://t.co/3vybbrLJ5GThread pic.twitter.com/7NRgqHiTBe

— Cosmos - Internet of Blockchains ⚛️ (@cosmos) March 29, 2021

Cosmos added that it is already working on a decentralized exchange supporting cross-chain functionality for IBC-compatible blockchains. The announcement states:

“The Gravity DEX will act as a marketplace for trading tokens from any connected blockchain, including tokens from IBC-enabled blockchains, wrapped ETH and ERC20 tokens, wrapped BTC tokens, as well as from any future networks that implement IBC.”

IBC is a standard that provides a method of securely exchanging data between two independent blockchains. It also provides scaling through sharding, utilizing sidechains for different applications.

The standard has been rolled out as part of a broader Cosmos ecosystem upgrade called Stargate, which also included new nodes that can synchronize 200x faster.

Cosmos’ native token, ATOM, has trended sideways despite the announcement. At the time of writing, ATOM last changed hands for roughly $20 and is down 23% from its Feb. 17 all-time high of $26.