Interchain Foundation Funds Tharsis Labs to publish evmOS open-source, Strengthening Ethereum-Cosmos Support and Interoperability

ZUG, Switzerland, March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Interchain Foundation (ICF), the steward of the Cosmos ecosystem and its Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, has officially funded the open-sourcing of evmOS, a pioneering Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 solution that allows developers to build EVM-powered blockchains using the Cosmos SDK. This marks a significant milestone in advancing Cosmos's functionality for Ethereum-native users, protocols, and infrastructure providers given evmOS's standing as the most feature-rich and performant EVM solution for L1 protocols.

evmOS will be made open-source under the Apache 2.0 license, and the ICF will create a fork of this technology, renamed to Cosmos EVM to continue its development as part of the Interchain Stack, through the Interchain Labs (ICL) team. This specifically pertains to the 'OS' repository. Other Evmos-related libraries and the Evmos blockchain itself remain independent and are not included in this initiative.

Federico Kunze Küllmer, co-founder of Evmos and core-contributor to the evmOS codebase, will transition away from his role as Evmos contributor and will be advising and providing guidance in regards to Cosmos EVM on Ethereum interoperability, modular blockchain architecture, and its roadmap within the long-term vision of the Cosmos ecosystem.

"Building evmOS has been an incredible journey, and I am proud of the impact we've had on building the EVM ecosystem on Cosmos", said Federico Kunze Küllmer, representing Tharsis Labs. "We feel this is the right thing for the community for the longevity of the code we've developed, and are excited about the ICF's support of this. I look forward to contributing to this next phase in a strategic advisory role."

"evmOS has done the work to merge the best of the Cosmos SDK as a blockchain-building framework, with EVM. It integrates them deeply, allowing for support of EVM as a VM, seamless user experiences with Ethereum wallets on Cosmos and EVM chains, and the extensibility of EVM itself through the in-protocol customization that only the Cosmos SDK can allow", expressed Barry Plunkett, Co-CEO of Interchain Labs.

Strategic Vision for evmOS Under ICF

Under its new open source provenance, the ICF will integrate Cosmos EVM, the fork of evmOS, further into Cosmos' Interchain Stack, enhancing its role as the canonical EVM solution for Cosmos chains. Additionally, the ICF and its subsidiary, Interchain Labs, will become the main steward and contributor of the software, ensuring its ongoing development and integration within the broader Cosmos ecosystem. The acquisition aligns with ICF's broader mission of fostering permissionless innovation, seamless cross-chain communication, and building the best platform and tools for world-scale application builders

Cosmos EVM will be fully open source, under the Apache 2.0 license. This will provide developers with greater freedom to contribute, modify, and deploy Cosmos EVM in a wide range of applications, fostering a more inclusive and decentralized development ecosystem.

"evmOS has been a critical piece in bridging the Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems, and we are excited to support its continued evolution under the Interchain Foundation umbrella", said Josh Cincinnati, president of the ICF's Foundation Council. "Federico's leadership and technical expertise have been instrumental in shaping first Etheremint and then evmOS into the best solution for proof-of-stake networks, and we are pleased to continue to receive his strategic insights", said Barry Plunkett.

What's Next

The evmOS roadmap, now Cosmos EVM, remains committed to its core objectives of enhancing the EVM ecosystem and providing seamless Ethereum compatibility within the Cosmos network. ICF and ICL will work closely with the evmOS projects to ensure a smooth transition in the upcoming network upgrades.

Federico Kunze Küllmer, Josh Cincinnati, Maghnus Mareneck, and Barry Plunkett are available for comment.

About the Interchain Foundation. The Interchain Foundation (ICF) is a Swiss-based non-profit organization dedicated to advancing open-source, decentralized blockchain infrastructure. As the steward of the Cosmos ecosystem and IBC, ICF funds research, development, and community initiatives to drive the future of the interchain economy.

About Interchain Labs. The Interchain Labs team is the ICF's main subsidiary, in charge of engineering, product, marketing and growth for the Interchain Stack, Cosmos Hub, and its ecosystem.

About evmOS Evmos is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 blockchain designed to bring EVM-based smart contract functionality to the Cosmos ecosystem. With built-in support for IBC, evmOS enables seamless cross-chain communication, empowering developers to build highly composable decentralized applications across multiple ecosystems.

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