SOMM — Sommelier is a ‘co-processor’ for Ethereum that will allow users to execute complex and automated financial transactions, such as portfolio rebalancing, limit orders, batched orders.

CTK — CertiK is a leading security-focused ranking platform to analyze and monitor blockchain protocols and DeFi projects.

GRAV — Gravity Bridge is an Ethereum to Cosmos bridge, allowing Cosmos SDK projects to access ERC-20 assets via IBC, and create ERC-20 representations of Cosmos SDK assets.

INJ — Injective Protocol is a decentralized cross-chain derivatives exchange protocol.

ROWAN — Sifchain is an “omni-chain DEX”, which bridges liquidity from Ethereum with plans for bridges to other chains.

BAND — Band Protocol is a cross-chain data oracle platform that aggregates and connects real-world data and APIs to smart contracts.

DIG — Dig Chain is a hub blockchain that coordinates the development of crypto-native real estate using geo-fenced chains that can comply with various local regulations. DIG listed on Osmosis on January 13, 2022.

Kava and the Cosmos ecosystem are growing rapidly, enabling blockchain operability across the crypto-verse. The IBC delivers improved inter-chain collaboration, an enhanced user experience, lower fees, and greater incentives to Kava and fellow IBC chains.

The Kava 9 upgrade drastically expands Kava’s surface area as a Cosmos SDK-based Layer-1. IBC connection multiplies onramps for new users and projects and introduces cross-chain earning opportunities. It also opens up new utilities for existing Kava-native assets.

• The IBC-enabled Gravity DEX is well-positioned to pull economic activity closer to Cosmos Hub and facilitate value transfer to other IBC-enabled chains.

• The Gravity Bridge is an improvement upon Peggy, which entailed creating “Peg” Zones that enabled the building of IBC bridges to chains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Gravity Bridge opens up new on-ramps for developers and users outside the Cosmos ecosystem.

Also, the failure rate for on-chain IBC transfers is zero, but getting packets relayed promptly is a work-in-progress.

According to a recent podcast by the Tendermint team, relayer incentives are in development to improve network capacity. Visit Cosmos’s documentation to learn more about relays.

While it may appear nothing but a token swap machine, the IBC’s ability to handle general transactions is quite powerful. A token can represent a dollar, a vote, a voucher, or NFTs. As with blockchain technology in general, its use-cases are potentially endless. IBC transactions may one day even include data from oracles like Band Protocol.

Introducing the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol (IBC)

In a nutshell, the IBC enables blockchains to talk to each other, and it’s the backbone of the Cosmos ecosystem.

Released earlier this year, the IBC will boot blockchain interoperability into hyperdrive. Kava 9 includes channels between Kava Network and several IBC-enabled chains. Each channel will become a major trade route carrying new value, use-cases, and users to the Kava Network.

The development of IBC picked up in the summer of 2019, and IBC’s launch was announced alongside the Stargate upgrade in February 2021 and was launched around April of the same year.

Members of the IBC Working Group include Tendermint, Agoric Systems, and the Interchain Foundation.

The IBC protocol can be likened to shipping container standardization, which enabled global economic trade without the necessity of political alignment between nation-states. The former lead researcher at Tendermint, Sunny Aggarwal, calls it “economic integration without political integration.”

As a general protocol for facilitating trustless communication between independent blockchains, the IBC is a major facet of Cosmos’s Internet of Blockchains vision. To understand what that all means for Kava, let’s look under the hood and inspect the IBC engine.

How IBC Functions

IBC can be implemented by any consensus mechanism that supports fast finality (like Tendermint Core).

The IBC standardizes what Zones (the application-specific blockchains of the Cosmos ecosystem) can expect when interacting with one another. Sticking with the shipping container analogy, the IBC allows the creation of shipping channels between Zones, like trade routes between different ports.

That’s important because before the IBC, the different blockchains of the Cosmos ecosystem, each with its own rules, had no effective way to communicate or “ship goods” to one another.

Both chains need to have IBC enabled to transact IBC assets. That entails each chain having a version of the consensus algorithm of the other so that they know how both chains find consensus. The most compatible option is to use Tendermint Core as the consensus mechanism.

What makes the IBC so powerful is its versatility — The IBC’s standardized form, the Inter‐Chain Standard (ICS), will work with any compatible blockchain, not just Cosmos ecosystem chains.

However, the IBC is highly compatible with the Cosmos ecosystem and could be the unifying force that the ecosystem lacked by its own nature (a centerless ecosystem of application-specific blockchains built with open-source software). A big reason for that is the Tendermint-based Cosmos SDK maintains dedicated support for the IBC.

The crypto scene woke up to Cosmos in 2021. IBC began its first step to the masses. The Cosmos community experienced their first interchain application. The Keplr team is proud to have been a critical part of the Cosmos interchain.

https://twitter.com/chainyoda/status/1481134963814588417

2021: A Recap 🎓

Growth of a truly permissionless ecosystem can be chaotic and uncoordinated. But out of the chaos emerges the building blocks for the next season of our ecosystem: interoperability in true practice.

With all the glories of interoperability, inevitably there would be challenges. Nothing so great and inclusive is formed easily. So, if anything, we’re grateful to see incredible teams and communities gathering and taking initiative to build out the components needed to make interoperability no longer an idea but a functioning (less chaotic), somewhat oiled machine-like beast.

Here are some themes to note from 2021 that seemed to stick out and stay with us throughout the year:

• Builders are the cornerstone

• Demand is there, builders are few (but growing)

• UX is difficult to valuate but invaluable

• Interoperability will always take more effort than you’d expect

In a way, each of these themes reaffirm Keplr’s primary purpose and goal.

Referring to our last roadmap post, I stated that Keplr’s primary purpose is to enable and empower blockchain application developers to maximize their potential and reach users. Since our ecosystem’s growth lies in the empowerment of its builders, then interoperability will no doubt benefit from the same.

At the current nascent stage of crypto, we believe that enabling developers to build better is the fastest way to bringing in more users. And for that, developers need a frictionless environment that will allow them to build without roadblocks.

“Keplr’s primary purpose is to enable and empower blockchain application developers to maximize their potential and reach users.”

Before we jump into what’s ahead, here are some of the milestones that Keplr has accomplished thus far.

Better Product Offerings —

👉 Keplr Mobile for iOS and Android:

• 60k mobile users since release

• ¼ of all Osmosis users are interacting from mobile app

👉 Infrastructure:

• 300+TB/month of data processed through Keplr endpoints

• 23 nodes, 34 servers (plus 3 proxies, 8 auxiliary servers) and growing — dedicated to Keplr

• 99.9% uptime

Ecosystem Expansion —

• 4000 users on Jan 1, 2021 to 220k users by Dec 31, 2021

• Rapid interchain GTM by builders by using permissionless features built by Keplr

Team Growth —

• Team of 3 to team of 8 (still tiny relative to most teams!)

• Improved internal processes and support systems

If 2021 was a year of theories and themes realized, 2022 is the year Keplr is now ready to step into its core role.

2022: Defining the Role of the Extension 🗂️

Scaling scalability

In 2021, as we watched the flood of new apps and chains go to market, initially, Keplr played an integral role in connecting the blockchain application to the end user.

Rather than Keplr web app being the central point of access for all interchain applications (which we’re hoping to provide in the future), the ability for each team to customize their applications and use Keplr as a component allowed Cosmos to scale far quicker than previously imagined. Amazing teams such as Omniflix provided alternative staking/governance interfaces, allowing projects of all sizes to use Keplr as a tool.

This circled us back to our core role: to encourage people to build more web apps that use Keplr.

We see Keplr extension’s roles and responsibilities as the following:

1. An interaction triggers the wallet to present the action to the user for confirmation.

2. Then the wallet shows the content of the transaction — allowing Keplr to be a neutral party to allow users to verify the contents of the transaction prior to executing it.

3. The wallet signs the transaction when the user approves and returns it to the web app.

With this simplified flow, there is less emphasis on Keplr as ‘the only application.’ There are more opportunities for developers and builders to create their own interpretation of crypto UX. Our job is to enable them to build without roadblocks. This ultimately means better permissionless access for everyone.

(Vertical monopolies for maximum value capture is a web2 idea. We’d like to reject that.)

The Next Frontier

So what’s next for Keplr? We find ourselves in this unique position where we can influence what the world wants to do with interchain ux. We can do this because we’re at the forefront of thinking about, understanding, and directly experiencing the interchain effects.

With Keplr’s R&R now defined, we’re ready to explore the new frontiers of the ‘wallet,’ because after all, a wallet is more than a tool for managing assets.

I’m sure you guys could think of some crazy things that a wallet could do, but here are a few of our ideas:

• Adding NFTs

• Experimenting with interchain accounts (our long-time vision), which includes account abstraction

• Adding support for Ethereum mainnet

• Improved support for small-scale groups

• IBC UX standardization

• Improving security process

In Conclusion

In conclusion, the way we can scale is to enable builders to build more cool shit (supply) so that the users can have more cool things to do (demand). Keplr wallet, as a gateway between the two, will continue to be as frictionless and trustless as possible to free this flow.

And with Keplr’s services more defined, we have space to pivot into a more custodial role in the way that we lead. As we continue to share our knowledge, we hope to discover more equitable solutions to shape an interchain that is more accessible and usable. In this way, we believe we are fulfilling Keplr’s ultimate purpose as an interchain wallet.

Keplr wallet is the first, and leading, IBC-enabled wallet for the Cosmos ecosystem. Visit our official site at https://keplr.app.

CZ haoshuai

@StargazeZone

The airdrop ended up proportionally benefitting smaller accounts more than larger accounts, could be a useful model for future drops. At least, an interesting case study

1. Engineering The application engineering team at Flix Crew has updated OmniFlix inSync, OmniFlix Studio & OmniFlix Market apps for an enhanced experience. Additional R&D is going towards the launch of the apps on the mainnet in the best possible manner.

2. Design & Media Collateral required for mainnet launch is being worked on along with updates to Studio, Market (web & mobile apps). Product walk-through videos are being worked on to ensure Flix Fam can share details about OmniFlix with anyone that might be interested.

3. Community This week, the OmniFlix ecosystem was on 🔥 4a) Governance for networks that are secured by the OmniFlix Validator Our governance participation and votes that we casted are being shared here. For more insight, please let us know your queries on Twitter, Telegram or Discord. We’ve voted in a way that drives network growth and that are important governance decisions in the path to complete decentralization. On 18/Jan/2022 Yes for #StarsProp5 for the proposal Transfer Protocol-owned Osmosis LP Tokens to Community Pool Yes for #OsmosisProp124 towards Protocol-Semi-automatic Incentive Adjustments for 01/16/2022 On 15/Jan/2022 Yes for #StarsProp4 for the proposal Enable Airdrop On 12/Jan/2022 Yes for #StarsProp3 for the proposal STARS on Osmosis: Pool incentives to boost liquidity and mitigate slippage