The Swiss-based Interchain Foundation (ICF), the core developer behind cross-chain communications protocol Cosmos, has announced that it will allocate $26.4 million for maintaining the ecosystem in 2024. The funding will prioritize the optimal functionality of the Interchain Stack, with specific allocations for various projects.
Investment in Core Projects
According to the announcement seen by Cointelegraph, the ICF's 2024 roadmap includes significant funding for key projects. $3 million will be allocated to CometBFT, Cosmos' Byzantine fault-tolerant engine for state machine replication. $4.5 million will go towards the Cosmos software development kit (SDK), and $7.5 million will be allocated to Cosmos' native inter-blockchain communications protocol (IBC).
Support for Additional Initiatives
The remaining $4.155 million will be dedicated to the smart contract framework CosmWasm, digital library CosmJS, and ecosystem security audits. This funding program aims to fortify the free-to-use, open-source Interchain Stack and enhance blockchain interconnectedness.
Maria Gomez, ICF Board Director, stated, "The role we play in the ecosystem is that of a steward that aids the interchain to achieve its goal of interoperable sovereignty."
Connecting Blockchains
Cosmos' IBC bridge currently connects 46 blockchains with a combined token value of $13 billion. However, this falls short of the target set by Cosmos core developer Tendermint (now Ignite) to have 200 IBCs connected by 2022. The allocation of funds aims to further expand the connectivity of blockchains within the Cosmos ecosystem.
Past Investments and Future Development
In the past year, the ICF allocated a total of $40 million for ecosystem development. This funding supported initiatives such as the Interchain Developer Academy, the Cosmos Developer Portal, and the Interchain Builders Program. The foundation also focused on integrating with other blockchain technologies, including Polkadot and Hyper Ledger.
Despite the increasing number of hacks surrounding cross-chain bridges, the Cosmos ecosystem has managed to avoid major security breaches.
