The core team of Layer 1 blockchain Evmos, which enables the integration of Ethereum smart contracts within the Cosmos network, plans to discontinue support for Cosmos transactions and focus solely on Ethereum-based transactions. This means that the core network only supports Ethereum-based wallets and tools rather than those designed for Cosmos.
The transition to a single transaction format is expected to streamline development workflow and improve the efficiency of Ethereum wallets on the network. Evmos announced a phased shutdown of Cosmos transactions, aiming for full completion in the third quarter of 2024.
The Evmos team has struggled with the dual challenge of maintaining compatibility for both Cosmos and Ethereum clients, according to the team. The network currently supports different transaction hashes for each ecosystem, a complexity the team wants to eliminate.
While Cosmos transactions focus on essential network operations such as staking and governance, Ethereum transactions facilitate interactions with dApps through the Ethereum Virtual Machine on Evmos.
The strategic move towards an EVM-centric transaction approach will allow the Evmos team to focus on simplification, the team said. The change is also expected to ease the workload for wallet developers and blockchain explorers by removing the need to support two transaction formats.
The inherent distinction between Cosmos and Ethereum transactions, specifically the presence of two types of transaction hashes, adds complexity for wallet and explorer developers, as the team explained. For example, this differentiation prevents Cosmos transactions from being indexed by EVM-based wallets, which in turn hinders the user experience. This shift will allow the Evmos team to maintain less infrastructure, allowing them to focus on improving the EVM user experience and interoperability.
Evmos will retain core Cosmos functionalities such as staking and token transfers via EVM Extensions, allowing users and developers to maintain uninterrupted access to these features.
“With the decision to maintain compatibility with Ethereum-type transactions only, we aim to increase our operational efficiency, align more closely with Ethereum developers, and send value to our users faster, while still supporting core functionalities such as staking, governance and interoperability that make Cosmos unique through our EVM extensions,” said Kunze Küllmer.
The focus on EVM
With the transition, the fees of the phased-out Cosmos transactions will be burned, marking a phased retirement of Cosmos transactions. Users with only Cosmos wallets will need to migrate to EVM-compatible clients, with popular wallets such as WalletConnect, Rabby and MetaMask providing the necessary support. Additionally, hardware wallets like Ledger continue to be supported through their dedicated Ethereum applications.
Evmos is part of the Cosmos network – an interoperability network that hosts more than 50 unique Layer 1 blockchains. The original purpose of Evmos was to enable users to deploy Ethereum-based smart contracts and assets and facilitate their use within the Cosmos ecosystem. To achieve this, the project has so far maintained compatibility with two types of network hashes, one for Cosmos and one for Ethereum.
Last year, the project raised $27 million in a token sale round led by Polychain Capital, with the valuation not made public.