NFT
Switzerland-based non-profit organization Interchain Foundation (ICF) has teamed up with Bianjie, a blockchain development company, to launch a new NFT standard. Users using the new standard, called ICS-721, can now track and transfer their NFTs across different blockchains.
ICS-721 – a tribute to the ERC 721 NFT standard on Ethereum – is an Application Layer Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, meaning that blockchains can communicate with each other without the need for a bridge.
With this new standard, NFTs can be integrated into various sectors of Web3. These include gaming, socializing, identity management, and many others, Maria Gomez, general manager of the Interchain Foundation, told Blockworks.
“The increase in profile photo projects (PFP) highlighted an earlier trend in NFT technology, but it also raised questions about their long-term value and sustainability. As the industry evolves, the focus is expected to shift to utility and real-world applications,” Gomez said.
Here Interchain NFTs are expected to have a clear advantage as the standard offers enhanced functionality and capabilities through cross-chain interoperability, she notes.
Harriet Cao, the founder of Bianjie and a prominent technical contributor to Cosmos, told Blockworks that ICS-721 will initially be accessible on all IBC-compatible Ethereum, Substrate, CosmWasm, and Cosmos SDK chains. There are plans to expand its availability to other ecosystems in the future.
The game of NFTs
A two-stage developer competition called Game of NFTs, designed to test ICS-721, was launched earlier in March this year. The name is a continuation of previous tests of Cosmos features, Game of Stakes and Game of Zones.
The first phase of the competition caught the attention of 198 teams worldwide, Cao said. Each team had to go through different tasks and challenges with the ultimate goal of testing the protocol’s capabilities before deploying it to the mainnet.
The contest was proposed by Bianjie in collaboration with multiple validator and developer teams, including those from IRISnet, Stargaze, Juno, Uptick and OmniFlix.
“The Cosmos ecosystem benefits from enhanced growth as it attracts a more diverse range of creators, users and developers,” said Cao. “This, in turn, fuels creativity and drives innovation, positioning the Cosmos ecosystem as the Blockchain interchain for cutting edge developments in the world of NFTs.”
Having completed Phase 1 of NFTs’ game, Phase 2 – an interchain hackathon – is now underway.
Teams have until June 19 to submit their projects for the hackathon, and the winners will receive more than $300,000 in tokens and credits.