Evmos, the EVM-Compatible Cosmos Chain, Mounts a Comeback

After a botched launch in March, the blockchain has relaunched with new tools for users looking to claim airdropped tokens.

AccessTimeIconApr 27, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 4:17 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

After months of hype ended in a botched launch in March, Evmos – the blockchain that aimed to improve Ethereum and Cosmos interoperability – is relaunching on Wednesday.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible, IBC-enabled Evmos blockchain was initially slated to launch in February as a way to fold Ethereum development into the Cosmos ecosystem. With strong community backing and innovative plans for a token airdrop, the chain seemed poised for success.

  • BlackRock Joins Asset Tokenization Race; North Korea Hackers Stole $3B in Crypto Since 2017
    02:07
    BlackRock Joins Asset Tokenization Race; North Korea Hackers Stole $3B in Crypto Since 2017
  • How Can AI and Blockchain Change the Music Industry?
    16:58
    How Can AI and Blockchain Change the Music Industry?
  • AI Will Make Music 'Come Alive Again,' CreateSafe CEO Says
    00:39
    AI Will Make Music 'Come Alive Again,' CreateSafe CEO Says
  • Colorado Securities Commissioner Addresses Crypto Projects Who Raise Capital via Tokens
    14:55
    Colorado Securities Commissioner Addresses Crypto Projects Who Raise Capital via Tokens
  • Yet, when Evmos launched in March after a short delay it was plagued by bugs and reports of users struggling to claim their airdropped tokens.

    After an attempted update led to a “critical security vulnerability,” Evmos’s issues became large enough that validators coordinated to halt the entire chain.

    “We decided as a community of validators and on the core team to just take a step back and try it again once we have everything sorted out,” said Evmos founder Federico Kunze Küllmer in an interview with CoinDesk.

    Now, a month and a half after Evmos shut down, the team feels it is ready to try again.

    Lessons learned

    Over the past month, the Evmos team has worked to make it easy for users to claim tokens that were lost during Evmos’s buggy March airdrop.

    As a part of this effort, the team is introducing a dashboard that, in addition to allowing users to stake their tokens and participate in protocol governance, will enable users to claim airdropped tokens.

    “We implemented additional checks on the claiming process and we also introduced our recovery for all the funds that were stuck,” said Kunze Küllmer. “We also have a clear guide for how to claim the tokens and how to recover tokens permanently stuck.”

    After a long list of complicated integrations brought down Evmos in March, Kunze Külmer said that “the main thing that we did as well from an engineering point of view is improve our testing processes and testing procedures.”

    In explaining Evmos’s new testing procedures, Kunze Külmer pointed CoinDesk to new documentation the team has created for Evmos users and developers. In addition to keeping Evmos on track, the documentation will serve as a point of reference for members of the wider Cosmos community looking to learn from Evmos’s mistakes.

    “We have these software upgrade guides for all our users so that not only we can benefit from the learning experience that we had with these failed upgrades, but other users in the Cosmos ecosystem can benefit,” explained Kunze Külmer.

    Ethereum + Cosmos = Evmos

    Cosmos is an interconnected community of blockchains that communicate via the so-called Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. In a world where new blockchains are popping up each day to cater to unique use cases, IBC makes it easy for distinct blockchains to swap assets and interoperate without the need for specialized tooling.

    Over the past couple of years, Cosmos has scaled into one of the largest blockchain ecosystems, with popular IBC-enabled chains like Terra and Osmosis reaching a combined market cap of nearly $70 billion, according to Cosmos builders Ignite.

    As Cosmos and other blockchain ecosystems have expanded, Ethereum continues to house most decentralized app development. Even as new non-Ethereum chains have stolen some of its spotlight, many of the most popular newer chains – among them Avalanche, Fantom and Polygon – are built to be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

    By making Evmos EVM-compatible, it will be easier for Ethereum-native developers to launch apps on the chain without extra overhead. It should also lead to a smoother experience for Ethereum users because they won’t need to ditch familiar tools like MetaMask.

    Evmos initially planned to relaunch on Tuesday, but it opted to push the launch back 24 hours to Wednesday at 6 p.m. UTC. Per a tweet from the Evmos Twitter account, “Evmos cannot launch without 100% confidence that we are ready to rock.”

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Sam Kessler

    Sam is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for tech and protocols. He reports on decentralized technology, infrastructure and governance. He owns ETH and BTC.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.