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Cosmos has announced the contribution of its IBC cross-chain protocol to LF Decentralized Trust, with Google Cloud and the Cardano Foundation supporting an effort to build an open standard for connecting financial networks.<\/p>\n
\n Summary<\/span>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cosmos said in its Nov. 9 announcement<\/a> that the contribution will give financial institutions, technology companies and developers a neutral setting to work on the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol, known as IBC.<\/p>\n The protocol allows independent digital ledgers to exchange assets and data. Cosmos is seeking to make it a common standard for financial systems that operate on separate networks, including those used for tokenized assets and payments.<\/p>\n In its announcement thread, Cosmos identified three reasons for the contribution: neutral stewardship, open participation, and access to the Linux Foundation\u2019s community of financial institutions, technology companies, and governments.<\/p>\n The company said organizations outside its existing ecosystem would have a way to participate in the protocol\u2019s development. Its stated goal is to attract contributors and support applications beyond the networks already using IBC.<\/p>\n \u201cIBC will remain free and open source, as always,\u201d Cosmos said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Existing chains, applications and services will continue communicating and transferring assets over the public IBC network, according to the company. Businesses using the protocol will retain access to its code and can continue building products with it.<\/p>\n The accompanying blog describes a public project charter and contribution guidelines governing the protocol. LF Decentralized Trust will hold the IBC trademark under its trademark policy, while maintainers work together on the technical roadmap.<\/p>\n Cosmos will continue committing engineering resources through Cosmos Labs, which remains a primary maintainer. Datachain and OpenZeppelin will join as code maintainers, giving the protocol three named teams responsible for its continued development.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cosmos\u2019s main announcement names Google Cloud as a supporter and describes participation from individuals at Wells Fargo, Figure Markets, Datachain, Injective, Cronos, OpenZeppelin, Cardano Foundation, Zenith Foundation and Espresso Systems, alongside other companies.<\/p>\n Cardano Foundation confirmed its own involvement in a separate post, saying it was joining Cosmos and 22 other sponsors to help IBC become a leading standard for finance.<\/p>\n Its endorsement described LF Decentralized Trust as a home for open-source blockchain technology used by major banks and financial institutions.<\/p>\n Wells Fargo\u2019s relationship with the foundation predates the IBC contribution. In a Sept. 24 announcement<\/a>, LF Decentralized Trust named the US bank, Swift, Cosmos and the Interchain Foundation among 15 new members.<\/p>\n Wells Fargo CIO Chintan Mehta said the bank\u2019s participation would support work on digital identity, tokenization and trusted digital infrastructure. The membership announcement establishes the bank\u2019s involvement with the foundation separately from the individuals supporting IBC\u2019s contribution.<\/p>\n Since 2021, IBC has handled more than $50 billion in transaction volume across over 200 networks, Cosmos said. More than 500 builders have contributed code during its development.<\/p>\n The company credits businesses and developers with taking the protocol beyond transfers between Cosmos networks. Its announcement points to applications in finance, Web3, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, across ecosystems including Ethereum, Solana and Hyperledger.<\/p>\n Contributors named in the thread include Agoric, IRISnet, Binary Builders, Chainapsis, Chorus One, Omnity Network, Confio, Datachain, Succinct Labs, Informal Systems, Iqlusion and Osmosis.<\/p>\n In September, crypto.news previously reported on Cosmos\u2019s institutional banking network<\/a>, which brought together 17 providers covering custody, compliance, security and infrastructure.<\/p>\n Cosmos Chief Commercial Officer Eran Barak said banks would select providers and sign separate contracts, retaining responsibility for compliance decisions. He identified Wells Fargo as using Cosmos ledger technology for a cross-border tokenized-deposit project planned for fall 2026.<\/p>\n Barak described IBC as the technical connection between separate ledgers, while saying compliance standards, liquidity practices, and settlement finality still required industry agreement.<\/p>\n Other infrastructure companies are developing connections for institutional networks. Consensys unveiled Sovereign Network Interoperability<\/a> on Nov. 2, with Ethereum-compatible networks available and support for Canton and IBC planned. Its platform covers securities settlement, currency exchanges, collateral transfers, and fund servicing.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
IBC governance moves to an open foundation<\/h2>\n
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Google Cloud and Cardano back the contribution<\/h2>\n
IBC brings five years of cross-chain activity<\/h2>\n
Banks still need common operating rules<\/h2>\n