what's Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC)?
IBC is the open-source standard for secure, permissionless interoperability between sovereign blockchains. It enables direct cross-chain transfers of tokens, data, and messages without centralized bridges or trusted third parties, powering communication across over 115 independent chains in ecosystems like Cosmos. The protocol uses light-client verification for trust-minimized consensus proofs, channel handshakes for connections, and relayers to transport packets between chains. Its modular architecture supports any blockchain with cheaply verifiable finality and vector commitments, facilitating applications from DeFi to NFTs while extracting no protocol-level fees—all code is peer-reviewed and freely available.
Links
x.com/ibcprotocolIBC integration is expected to roll out without requiring a hard fork as part of upcoming improvements to the Maya Protocol.
Sentinel Network upgrades to IBC v7 as part of its Hub v12 software upgrade proposal, which also includes Cosmos SDK v0.47, CometBFT v0.37, and CosmWasm v0.46.
Akash Network deprecates its L1 chain and migrates to another chain while maintaining IBC compatibility, with an RFP for foundations launching in coming weeks.
Project Trinity launches with SMBC and partners for security token settlement in Japan's ¥193.8B+ market using stablecoin-based DvP.
Achieves second rank in total bridge transactions with USDC as dominant transferred asset.
Bridge achieves 5th rank in volume ($822M) with strong retail adoption indicated by 786k transactions averaging $1k each.
Expanding into institutional and RWA markets with new sovereign, confidential infrastructure features.
Multiple protocol upgrades including widget v2, scan v2, app v2, bridge v2, and interop upgrade are imminent, signaling major platform-wide improvements.
Bridge facilitates $961M monthly volume, ranking 8th among major cross-chain protocols with 3.81% market share.