A little bit of chit-chat
Evmos has recently unveiled its latest version, called "Evmos 2.0". The biggest change is that it is now cross-chain compatible, which allows developers to create without restrictions and access various ecosystems with ease. This update has eliminated the need for intermediaries, making it a trustless, secure, and simplified native cross-chain interaction. Evmos 2.0 also introduces Software Licensing, which aligns with the company's value system and prevents divisive forks in future Evmos SDK chains. They are also working on improving token emissions elasticity and incentivizing growth for further enhancements to tokenomics. Evmos is attracting flagship apps as the Ethereum Canary Chain for developers, and the introduction of EVM Extensions will enable IBC composability and push progress to Cosmos. Additionally, Outposts will expand liquidity while Dynamic IBC will enable the next generation of dApps.
Privacy in the lab
Namada is introducing Shielded Swaps on Osmosis, which will bring privacy to token swaps on Cosmos' leading DEX. This new feature is based on the idea of "shielded actions" and will give users a higher level of anonymity.
For instance, users can easily transfer ATOM from Namada's shielded account to Osmosis through the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. After that, they can trade ATOM for OSMO transparently on Osmosis before returning the OSMO to their shielded account on Namada, also through IBC. The main aspect of this feature is its privacy, which is ensured by the untraceable link between the original shielded ATOM and the resulting shielded OSMO, keeping user identities undisclosed and transactions independent. Shielded actions can abstract away this process with one click via a custom front-end collaboration between Osmosis and the Anoma Foundation.
Shielded Swaps will also allow private interactions not only with IBC-compatible chains but with any chain that is connected to Namada. This versatility opens up a variety of possibilities, such as trading NFTs on Ethereum and staking ETH.
If you missed it, check out Adrian Brink’s talk on Shielded Data Availability from the Modular Summit.
Fees abstraction on the Hub
A proposal has surfaced in the Cosmos Hub regarding the addition of the Fee Abstraction Module. This module, created by the team at Notional and financed by the Osmosis Grants Program, aims to address the issue of fee abstraction, which has impeded the adoption of external ecosystems. The module enables transaction fees on the Cosmos Hub to be paid with any token by first exchanging that token for ATOM on Osmosis, providing a level of privacy and flexibility previously unseen in blockchain interactions.
The primary goal of this proposal is to enable fees to be paid in any asset on chains that implement the module, without requiring the chain to change its accepted fee assets. The feature utilizes interchain queries, packet forwarding middleware, and IBC hooks to periodically exchange collected transaction fees to a chain's native token using Osmosis. This mechanism caters to the diversity of assets received by ATOM stakers and facilitates seamless onboarding for new users, including those coming from other ecosystems, who desire to use assets like wETH, USDC, or USDT to pay for transaction fees.
Although the proposal is currently a signalling proposal, its acceptance would pave the way for subsequent software upgrades via an independent vote.
Wrap Up
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