Octopus Network, a Web3 infrastructure built on the Near Protocol, announced the launch of its Adaptive IBC at NearCon 2023. This innovation aims to bridge the gap between the Cosmos ecosystem and Near and ushers in a new era of interoperability in the blockchain world.
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In a major development, Secret Network, a blockchain platform known for its focus on confidential computing, will be the first adopter of Adaptive IBC in early 2024. This integration marks the first-ever connection between the Cosmos and Near ecosystems, enabling the capabilities of the Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC).
At NearCon 2023, Louis Liu, founder of Octopus Network, and Alex Zaidelson, CEO of SCRT Labs, the core development team behind Secret Network, jointly announced this partnership.
Liu called Adaptive IBC a “groundbreaking development in interoperability.”
IBC, or Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol, is recognized as one of the most comprehensive open blockchain interoperability protocol stacks. The NEAR-IBC project is a key part of the Octopus 2.0 roadmap, aiming to enable seamless asset transfers between the NEAR and Cosmos ecosystems.
Building on IBC’s foundation, Secret Network, which leverages the Cosmos SDK and Tendermint consensus and focuses on confidentiality-preserving smart contracts, is exploring further collaborations with Octopus Network. These efforts are aimed at improving confidential computing capabilities between NEAR and Cosmos.
One of the expected features is to enable smart contracts on NEAR to leverage Secret Network’s confidential computing capabilities. This integration allows NEAR-based smart contracts to perform most of their activities within their own network, while using a proxy contract on Secret Network for tasks that require confidential computations.
“The partnership with Octopus is part of the overall 2024 strategy to make Secret Network’s confidential computing power accessible to developers and users in the Web3 ecosystem, focused on Ethereum, NEAR and other leading blockchains.”
Alex Zaidelson, CEO of SCRT Labs
Louis Liu also outlined Octopus Network’s broader vision, which includes connecting NEAR to other major blockchain ecosystems in the near future, such as Ethereum, BNB Chain and Solana, through the development of the NEAR IBC Port.
With the introduction of the NEAR IBC Port, Octopus Network is poised to play a critical role in reshaping the future of blockchain interoperability and unlocking new possibilities for blockchain ecosystems.
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About secret network
Secret Network provides scalable permissionless smart contracts with a standard confidential design, introducing new blockchain use cases that are not feasible on public systems. Secret Network was the first protocol to offer confidential smart contracts on the mainnet, live since September 2020. Secret Network is built with the Cosmos Software Development Kit (SDK), bringing interoperable confidential computing to the entire Cosmos ecosystem.
Secret Network uses a combination of Intel SGX (Software Guard Extension) Trusted Execution Environment technology, various encryption schemes, and key management to provide standard confidentiality to blockchain users. Secret Contracts are an implementation of the Rust-based smart contract building toolkit CosmWasm, which adds confidential metadata capabilities.
Secret Network is powered by the Native Public Coin SCRT used for fees, Proof-of-Stake, security and Governance. With over 30+ Dapps on the mainnet and over 100 full-time builders, Secret Network aims to bring confidential computing to all of Web3.