The Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC) celebrated its third anniversary on April 3. IBC is a blockchain interoperability protocol used by 110+ chains. The first IBC transaction was processed in April 2021, and the protocol has continually pushed the boundaries of interoperability for decentralized technologies since its inception. The majority of the 110+ IBC-enabled chains are in the Cosmos ecosystem. In April of last year, Composable Finance launched the first IBC implementation connecting Polkadot and Kusama, and connections are in development with Avalanche via Landslide, NEAR via Octopus Network, rollups via Dymension, and now, Ethereum via Composable.
In tandem with IBC’s anniversary, Picasso Network, part of the Composable Foundation, has successfully connected Ethereum to IBC on mainnet for the first time. Picasso’s framework overcomes previous technical complexities, bringing Ethereum into the interchain ecosystem, enabling secure interoperability with all other IBC-enabled chains.
The launch of IBC marked a significant milestone in interoperability. The protocol enables chains to send and receive any type of data encoded in bytes, and today, this framework allows for a feature set that powers the industry’s most feature-rich cross-chain interactions. Since the first IBC transaction in 2021, 115 blockchain zones have been connected through IBC, with the total value of IBC transfers in the last 30 days reaching $2.9 billion. Proudly, there have been zero exploits to date. 8.8 million token transfers happen over IBC every 30 days.
The Interchain Foundation funds the development of the IBC protocol, stewarding its evolution into the TCP/IP of blockchains. It is recognized as a preferred solution for blockchain interoperability in the enterprise space, proving its adaptability in large-scale financial operations, such as with the recent adoption by MUFG, the seventh-largest bank in the world, of a cross-chain asset issuance and management platform powered by IBC.
This IBC connection will drive usership and liquidity to Ethereum from the interchain, Polkadot, Kusama, and further interconnected ecosystems in the future. Additionally, with the latest Dencun upgrade, Ethereum rollup scaling has truly begun, allowing scalability and modular design to meet users' demands and desires. Ethereum states that light clients are an active area of development for the network, with only a few light clients currently supported. With the introduction of Ethereum IBC, the ecosystem can now leverage the benefits of light client-based interoperability, giving Ethereum builders and end-users access to secure, battle-tested, feature-rich cross-chain interactions.
Picasso's Ethereum IBC, like other ecosystem connections that have been established in the last 3 years, not only enhances Ethereum's reach but also fosters new use cases for ETH outside its native network, essential for bringing blockchain to widespread adoption.
