USDC To Be Integrated Into Cosmos

The number one stablecoin in the world USDC will soon be available on the Cosmos ecosystem.

The Cosmos blockchain is a network of decentralized blockchains that are all interactable using their patented inter-blockchain communication (IBC) protocol.

Circle the issuer of USDC is working with blockchain validation company Strangelove Labs, in addition, to help from Osmosis Labs, Informal Systems, and Iqlusion, to maintain neutrality, while creating a generic asset issuance chain secured by Cosmos for the launch of the coin.

The rollout of the stablecoin will begin in early 2023 when users and developers will be able to access the asset through the IBC protocol Zaki Manian, co-founder of Iqlusion, told Blockworks.

“It’s been a real challenge,” Manian said. “We came up with this architecture of a chain for USDC — we’re not fully talking about how it’s going to be brought on, but we are talking about this idea of having it fire towards being part of interchain security.”

According to Manian, USDC has been talking to multiple networks in Cosmos for over a year, but it was difficult for the stablecoin provider to navigate such a large ecosystem of decentralized blockchains to come up with a standardized solution until recently.

“We’re essentially defining a standard form of USDC across the Cosmos right now,” he said.

The cry to integrate stablecoins into its ecosystem came after decentralized borrowing and lending platform dYdX revealed, in June this year, that it will be migrating from Ethereum to Cosmos.

“It is very important to us that we support the launch of dYdX v4, which is a huge user of USDC,” Manian said.

The strength of the Cosmos network is its dedication to decetralzation, launching USDC on the network, which is the most used asset within DE-FI, was critical according to Manian

Every DeFi project which now chooses to launch on Cosmos will have a functional fiat on-ramp into the application space, without requiring bridging or wrapped assets.

“What we’re trying to achieve from a software architecture point of view is minimizing security risks and base ourselves in a battle-tested IBC stack, and not some of the more immature bridging protocols,” he said.

Currently, USDC is available to Cosmos chains through one of two competing bridging protocols — Gravity and Axelar. That arrangement can be confusing for users and, although no security incidents have affected these protocols, recent history underscores the vulnerability of bridging solutions writ large.