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.
Summary
- Cosmos and the Interchain Foundation are contributing IBC to LF Decentralized Trust’s neutral governance framework.
- Google Cloud supports the contribution, while Cardano Foundation has separately confirmed its participation.
- IBC has processed over $50 billion across more than 200 networks since 2021, according to Cosmos.
- Cosmos will remain a maintainer, with Datachain and OpenZeppelin joining work on the protocol.
Cosmos said in its Nov. 9 announcement 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.
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.
IBC governance moves to an open foundation
In its announcement thread, Cosmos identified three reasons for the contribution: neutral stewardship, open participation, and access to the Linux Foundation’s community of financial institutions, technology companies, and governments.
The company said organizations outside its existing ecosystem would have a way to participate in the protocol’s development. Its stated goal is to attract contributors and support applications beyond the networks already using IBC.
“IBC will remain free and open source, as always,” Cosmos said.
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.
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.
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.
Google Cloud and Cardano back the contribution
Cosmos’s 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.
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.
Its endorsement described LF Decentralized Trust as a home for open-source blockchain technology used by major banks and financial institutions.
Wells Fargo’s relationship with the foundation predates the IBC contribution. In a Sept. 24 announcement, LF Decentralized Trust named the US bank, Swift, Cosmos and the Interchain Foundation among 15 new members.
Wells Fargo CIO Chintan Mehta said the bank’s participation would support work on digital identity, tokenization and trusted digital infrastructure. The membership announcement establishes the bank’s involvement with the foundation separately from the individuals supporting IBC’s contribution.
IBC brings five years of cross-chain activity
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.
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.
Contributors named in the thread include Agoric, IRISnet, Binary Builders, Chainapsis, Chorus One, Omnity Network, Confio, Datachain, Succinct Labs, Informal Systems, Iqlusion and Osmosis.
Banks still need common operating rules
In September, crypto.news previously reported on Cosmos’s institutional banking network, which brought together 17 providers covering custody, compliance, security and infrastructure.
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.
Barak described IBC as the technical connection between separate ledgers, while saying compliance standards, liquidity practices, and settlement finality still required industry agreement.
Other infrastructure companies are developing connections for institutional networks. Consensys unveiled Sovereign Network Interoperability 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.
