Cosmos and the Interchain Foundation announced that IBC will be contributed to LF Decentralized Trust, a Linux Foundation project, shifting protocol governance there and aiming to broaden participation.
IBC provides a technical link for blockchains to pass data and digital assets across network boundaries. Cosmos said its Nov. 9 announcement put IBC transaction volume above $50 billion.
A public charter and contributor rules would set how IBC is governed within LF Decentralized Trust. The maintainer group would still include Cosmos, with Datachain and OpenZeppelin responsible for code maintenance.
Cosmos Labs named Google Cloud as a supporter. Its release also listed people affiliated with Wells Fargo, Figure Markets, OpenZeppelin and Cardano Foundation as backing the contribution. Cosmos Labs’ release quoted Richard Widmann, Google Cloud’s director of Web3 strategy, calling the foundation “a neutral forum” for interoperability work.
Cosmos said differences in technology and in legal and regulatory requirements across networks add costs and risks and limit collaboration. It argues that broader participation by developers and organizations could expand IBC adoption. The announcement did not provide a timetable for completing the contribution.
IBC’s development began in 2019, Cosmos said, and its first transaction took place April 2, 2021. The planned contribution would place the protocol within a Linux Foundation project while keeping Cosmos involved in maintenance.
