"An open and interoperable bridge between Ethereum and Cosmos has long been a shared vision of a fully connected Interchain," said Althea CEO Deborah Simpier.
the Interchain Foundation, a Swiss non-profit serving as a steward of the Cosmos (ATOM) ecosystem, announced the launch of Gravity Bridge as built by decentralized internet service provider Althea. Gravity Bridge enables the transfer of ERC-20 tokens between the Ethereum (ETH) and Cosmos blockchains. During its initial stages, Gravity Bridge will operate as a standalone chain before migrating to Cosmos Hub early next year. Its key technical features include interchangeable token issuance across both chains and the support of Ethereum to Cosmos oracles.
In March, the Inter-Blockchain Communication, or IBC, protocol launched on the Cosmos network, allowing for the communication and transfer of digital assets across different blockchains. There are now over 20 blockchains supporting IBC. Peng Zhong, CEO of Tender mint, the core developer of the Cosmos network, said in an interview with Coin telegraph that he expects to see "about 200 chains connected through Cosmos’ IBC next year."