StarkWare is working to integrate Cosmos’ IBC protocol into Starknet.

StarkWare, a core contributor and developer of Ethereum Layer 2 Starknet, will integrate the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, a core component of the Cosmos ecosystem designed to enable interoperability between independent blockchains. For this integration, they are working with Cosmos contributor Informal Systems.

Currently, Cosmos and Starknet operate on different codebases. Starknet is a permissionless, decentralized ZK-Rollup that operates as a Layer 2 network on Ethereum. It uses STARK proofs to secure the mainnet while ensuring high throughput and low transaction fees. Cosmos, on the other hand, is an ecosystem of multiple chains developed using the Cosmos SDK. These chains utilize the Tendermint consensus mechanism and communicate with each other via the IBC protocol.

This integration will allow Starknet to connect with any IBC-compatible chain, including all Cosmos chains and other chains outside of the Cosmos ecosystem that have adopted this functionality.

StarkWare explained that this partnership with Informal Systems focuses on strengthening the decentralization of Starknet and expanding interoperability.

“This partnership aims to achieve Starknet’s two main goals of enhancing decentralization and interoperability by exploring the Tendermint consensus algorithm and the IBC protocol,” it said.

The fundamental component that makes IBC efficient is the use of light client verification. When two chains want to communicate, they do not need to verify the entire state of the other party. Instead, they use light clients (simplified versions of blockchain nodes) to verify cryptographic proofs attached to transactions on the opposing chain.

Over the past year, Starkware has been working on several R&D initiatives, including bringing STARKs to Bitcoin, the ZKThreads framework for “fractal scaling,” and parallel transaction execution.

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