Cosmos Launched A Cross-chain Bridge And Wrapped BTC – ATOM Price Rallies
ATOM price jumped triple-digit gains after the network built out its DeFi ecosystem and works on cross-chain bridges for Ethereum and Bitcoin.
Top layer-one protocols have been trending upwards throughout August as the highly anticipated rollout of the London hard fork on the Ethereum (ETH) network has done little to address the network’s high transaction fees and delayed confirmations.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the quest to find a more welcoming smart contract environment has been Cosmos (ATOM), a project focused on interoperability that has set out to become the “internet of blockchains” thanks to its Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.
ATOM price rallied 180% from a low of $8.87 on July 20 to a high of $24.77 on Aug. 22 as its 24-hour trading volume surged from an average of $250 million to $1.87 billion.
The 3 reasons for the strong showing from ATOM over the past month include the release of decentralized finance protocols on the network, the launch of a sidechain that enables the exchange of assets between Cosmos and Ethereum and the announcement of plans to bring Bitcoin (BTC) to the Cosmos ecosystem.
More DeFi Capabilities
Decentralized finance (DeFi) has been one of the biggest developments to emerge from the blockchain ecosystem over the past couple of years and is set to revolutionize the traditional financial sector.
The recent launch of the first functioning user interface for DeFi on Cosmos, known as Emeris, has been one of the biggest movers of ATOM price of late because the introduction of cross-chain exchange capabilities excited members of the Cosmos community and led to a spike in demand for the token.
⚛️ ✨Emeris beta, the first interface for #GravityDEX, is NOW live ?
The cross-chain portal @emerisHQ has just launched, making #DeFI in Cosmos a reality!
The new interface allows users to access a number of cross-chain DeFi protocols on the Cosmos network and trade assets on blockchains like IRISnet (IRIS), Persistence (XPRT) and the Akash Network (AKT).
New Opportunities From Ethereum Bridge
The second reason for the ATOM rally is the integration of Sifchain with the IBC, which made the project the first decentralized exchange to enable trades between the Cosmos ecosystem and the Ethereum network.
? Another shining star joins us: Welcome to the #IBCgang, @sifchain!
Ethereum currently hosts most of the top smart-contract protocols for DeFi and NFTs and this integration allows users of both ecosystems to easily trade assets between the two networks.
Wrapped Bitcoin
The third reason for the current bullish momentum comes from an August 23 announcement that the Interchain Foundation (IFC), an organization that funds development grants in the Cosmos ecosystem, had granted funding to the Interlay development fund for bringing Bitcoin to the Cosmos network.
@inter_btc is building an #IBC bridge to enable any IBC compatible chain to access trustless Bitcoin. This exciting step will help Cosmos grow the #DeFi sector & improve inter-blockchain collaboration. ? Read more:https://t.co/wonb7l0q8Wpic.twitter.com/REDoB2Pb4n
Bitcoin is the leader of the crypto market by market capitalization, so the ability to operate on Cosmos has the potential to bring new users to the network.
Interlay utilizes a lock-up and vault technology that lets users secure their Bitcoin and mint fully collateralized interBTC that can be used in many DeFi projects and the feature is already available as a Polkadot parachain.
This integration will allow Bitcoin to be used in the Cosmos DeFi ecosystem and it will bring deep liquidity and an increase in utility to the network.
