Recently, the community of the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem disclosed the deployment of the Cosmos Gravity Bridge, which will empower all IBC (inter-blockchain communication) Cosmos SDK-based chains to receive and utilize Ethereum/EVM-based and allows for Cosmos-based tokens to be represented in popular Ethereum wallets and AMMs (automated market makers).
Cosmos Gravity Bridge combines gas reducing strategies similar to Ethereum L2 networks with a decentralized, permissionless bridge that connects the Cosmos and Ethereum ecosystems and allows assets to be forwarded from Ethereum to a destination chain via IBC.
Althea Networks, which developed Gravity Bridge to facilitate transactions for its distributed internet infrastructure platform, supported the development, contributing over 70,000 lines of open-source code, performing audits, and rigorous testing. The bridge recently launched its mainnet, with a decentralized start and over 100 unique validators came together to produce the first block.
“This opens up a lot of opportunities for cross-chain operations and cross-chain development, where you can do things on Ethereum that aren’t otherwise possible — you can chain a bridge to Ethereum with a bridge over IBC, giving you access not only to the Ethereum ecosystem from a Cosmos-based chain but the entire Cosmos ecosystem from an Ethereum or EVM-based chain.”
– Justin Kilpatrick, Althea CTO, Co-Founder, & Lead Developer of Gravity Bridge
The first project to take advantage of this opportunity is Osmosis DEX, the preeminent decentralized exchange in the Cosmos ecosystem. Integrating the Cosmos Gravity Bridge enables Osmosis DEX to provide its users with a familiar platform to bridge Ethereum-based (EVM) tokens into the wider Cosmos ecosystem, catalyzing an influx of capital and unique new functionalities, as well as opportunities for new growth in both the Cosmos and Ethereum ecosystems. Ethereum (ETH) and the Ethereum-based stablecoin USDC are the first tokens to be available, with many more scheduled for integration.