I would like to focus my attention on EVM compatibility within the Cosmos ecosystem, specifically on the importance of this development for the broader ecosystem. All the projects I have worked on used the Cosmos SDK to run Solidity smart contracts on their own blockchains. The latest project utilized precompiled smart contracts to interact with Cosmos via MetaMask — specifically for staking tokens and similar functionalities.
Most often, we used a fork of Evmos. After the introduction of a private license, we switched to forks from Cronos. And now, Cosmos is finally adding native EVM support (though it’s not yet available in Ignite as a template).
Currently, Cosmos Hub processes only 2–4 transactions per block. I believe the demand for ATOM as a fee token will increase once EVM is integrated into the system. There may also be additional revenue opportunities from L2-EVM solutions. Moreover, the ability to interact with Cosmos through MetaMask using precompiled contracts — effectively a bridge between EVM and Cosmos modules — will increase the number of users.
I’ve reviewed the code at github.com/cosmos/evm, and it looks solid. I’ve launched my own network with it. However, there are no large testnets or a dedicated EVM network available, no Blockscout explorer support, and no way to connect via MetaMask and use staking. This makes it difficult for contributors to validate and engage with what I consider to be one of the most important developments in the Cosmos ecosystem.
The network can be launched by the team developing the EVM module. Setting up Blockscout can also be handled by this team — these are not new features.
However, staking via MetaMask and connecting wallets through WalletConnect are new features. I don’t know who will be responsible for developing them, but ideally it should be the EVM team, since they understand precompile contracts better than anyone else.
I started this discussion to help us focus our efforts on EVM integration. The module is already functional, and we can already test and evaluate it. I believe it would be much more effective to see the results of this work through a usable interface — one that shows transactions, blocks, and instructions on how to join the existing network as a validator, along with the ability to stake via MetaMask.
Media publications and announcements about the testnet launch will attract more developers and draw greater user attention to the ecosystem — showing that it’s actively evolving. The EVM ecosystem is currently the strongest in the industry. Technologies like zk-proofs, homomorphic encryption, and more are already being implemented and used — at the very least — within EVM environments.
Developing staking and interaction with other Cosmos modules via MetaMask currently requires mostly frontend development. One of the companies has already attempted to implement this, and it worked quite well.
Yes, the EVM module is being developed by the Cosmos team. I’m not entirely sure who exactly maintains the repositories under github.com/cosmos, but as far as I understand, this is the same EVM team within the Cosmos organization.
I’m planning to try launching a testnet this week with the EVM module, Blockscout, and other components. I believe the community should focus on integrating EVM into the Cosmos Hub and on making the EVM team’s progress visible.
As for the ability to stake via MetaMask, that’s a separate development effort — it either needs to be funded or should be handled by the Cosmos team. Unfortunately, I’m just a Golang developer, and this would require JavaScript expertise.
I think not everyone realizes that a Cosmos address can easily be converted into an EVM address, and that you can actually use MetaMask to stake tokens.
As an average user, I just want to visit a website and stake my ATOM tokens using the familiar MetaMask and WalletConnect — but right now, that’s not possible.
EVM is just another module in the Cosmos SDK, but I’m confident it will bring significant value to ATOM.
Every company I’ve worked for — three or four in total — used Cosmos for building their own networks that run EVM smart contracts.
We are talking about EVM and other things. The most important thing we need to focus is on terra liquidity alliance erisprotocol. It will really help to attract TVL back to cosmos. Make sure to built strategies around it.
Typical DeFi applications (written in Solidity) cannot be deployed on the Cosmos Hub.
Regular users — even those who at least know how to use MetaMask — can’t simply visit a website and stake their tokens.
The Cosmos Hub is falling far behind, while discussions are focused on wrapped tokens, leverage, and ways to profit from collateral contracts and other financial constructions.