IBC turns 3!
Three years ago on March 29th, 2021, the inaugural IBC connection was created between the Cosmos Hub and Iris, with Akash Network following suit.
The Cosmos Hub Stargate release introduced IBC to the world. Since then, the protocol has consistently gone from strength to strength. Today, IBC has flourished into a network of networks connecting 110+ chains, with greater than 2 million Monthly Active Users (MAU), sending more than 8 million transfers each month, with a volume exceeding $2.5 billion.
Much like a child being born into this world who matures into an impressive individual, the evolution of IBC over the years has been something truly spectacular. As the protocol turns three this year, we take a look at three key milestones and accomplishments since its inception.
1. The first IBC transfer
Sent from Iris to Cosmos Hub, April 2nd 2021 marked the first time an IBC token transfer was sent, ushering in a new era where users of Cosmos app chains could interact and exchange value across networks.
2. IBC expands beyond the Cosmos
IBC was limited to chains built using the Cosmos SDK for the first two years of its life. In April of last year, Composable Finance launched the first IBC implementation outside of the Cosmos ecosystem - connecting Polkadot and Kusama.
This development marked several key milestones:
- For the first time, two non-Cosmos SDK chains were able to communicate over IBC.
- The connection enabled interoperability between Polkadot and Kusama, which didn't exist before.
- It allowed all Substrate chains to interact over IBC.
- It allowed all Substrate chains to connect to Cosmos app chains. Here you can see the first IBC transfer between the Polkadot and Cosmos ecosystems.
Additionally, multiple teams are working on extending IBC to new chains and ecosystems:
- Composable Finance: IBC to Near, Solana, and Ethereum Mainnet
- Datachain: IBC enterprise adoption
- Electron Labs: IBC between Cosmos and Ethereum Mainnet
- Interchain GmbH and Celestia: IBC support for Rollkit rollups
- Landslide Network: IBC to Avalanche
- Polymer Labs: IBC for Ethereum L2s
- Union: IBC between Cosmos and Ethereum Mainnet
3. Interchain Accounts: The first non-token transfer IBC transaction
The launch of Interchain Accounts (ICA) in March 2022 was an important milestone in the development of IBC. It enabled application developers to build products that compose across multiple chains, providing end-users with a seamless cross-chain experience.
On Sep 5th 2022, the first ICA transaction was sent from Stride to the Cosmos Hub as part of its liquid staking services. This was also the first non-token transfer transaction sent between two IBC-enabled chains.
Much like the Internet revolutionized global communication between computers and servers, we envision a future where IBC serves as the TCP/IP for blockchains as the groundwork for seamless cross-chain communication.
To stay updated on IBC’s journey for the next 3 years and more, follow the protocol on Twitter and join our Discord.
And finally, looking ahead to IBC’s 4th anniversary, we anticipate even more exciting developments such as the first packet sent between Cosmos and Ethereum, integration with Rollkit, the first multihop packet, the first fee-incentivised transfer, and many more!
