The Interchain Foundation is providing support for Tharsis Labs to develop an open-source evmOS, an Ethereum-compatible layer 1 solution designed to enhance interoperability between the Ethereum and Cosmos networks.
This funding initiative will enable Tharsis Labs to make evmOS open source, thereby extending the functionalities of Cosmos (ATOM) to users within the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem.
The Interchain Foundation, dedicated to advancing the Cosmos ecosystem and its Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol, announced the project on March 18.
With the introduction of evmOS, developers will have the capability to create EVM-powered decentralized applications and chains utilizing the Cosmos software development kit. Tharsis Labs plans to release the Ethereum virtual machine-compatible software under the Apache 2.0 license, as stated by the Interchain Foundation.
In this scenario, the foundation will fork the technology from evmOS and rebrand it as Cosmos EVM, allowing the steward of the Cosmos ecosystem to continue advancing the project’s development.
Cosmos EVM will integrate with the Interchain Stack and will be developed by the Interchain Labs team.
“We believe this is the best move for the community regarding the sustainability of the code we’ve developed, and we appreciate the ICF’s backing in this endeavor. I look forward to contributing to this next stage in an advisory capacity,” remarked Federico Kunze Küllmer, co-founder of evmOS and representative of Tharsis Labs.
The Interchain Foundation asserts that having an open-source provenance will facilitate further integration of the forked technology stack, fostering permissionless innovation in the space. The incorporation of evmOS as the primary EVM solution for Cosmos aims to promote cross-chain communication and enhance the scaling of DeFi applications.
Despite the funding and the forking of evmOS, the Interchain Foundation remains steadfast in its commitment to the project’s roadmap. In addition to ensuring compatibility with Ethereum, the foundation seeks to enhance evmOS into a solution that all proof-of-stake networks can utilize for broader web3 adoption.
“evmOS has played a vital role in connecting the Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems, and we are excited to assist in its ongoing development under the Interchain Foundation,” stated Josh Cincinnati, president of the ICF’s Foundation Council.
Last July, LayerZero Labs teamed up with Initia Labs to create an interoperability standard for Cosmos. This collaboration aimed to bring omnichain interoperability to chains enabled by Cosmos SDK and LayerZero.