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2024 Year in Review: The Interchain, IBC, Cosmos Hub, and Cosmos Ecosystem
2025 Outlook based on the performance within the Cosmos ecosystem: 2024 year in review
WhisperNode & Popeblack
January 10, 2025
2024 year in Review featuring:Injective
Sei Ecosystem
Akash
Osmois
Axelar
Cosmos
Secret
Dymension
Berachain
Cheqd
Initia
In 2024, Injective made steady advancements across DeFi and blockchain, cementing its position as a leader in scalability, interoperability, and real-world asset (RWA) integration. Key milestones included groundbreaking upgrades like Volan, Altaris, and inEVM, which improved performance, expanded dApp ecosystems, and introduced new features such as advanced Oracle designs, RWA modules, and hyper-scale virtual machines. Helix, the native decentralized exchange, saw upgrades like Helix 2.0, enhanced trading features, and the integration of fiat and RWA markets, while Injective's staking ecosystem grew with over 58 million INJ staked.
The launch of AI initiatives like iAgent and the Smart Agent Hub highlighted Injective's exploration of AI-enabled finance, while partnerships with institutions like Fireblocks, Trust Wallet, and Fetch.ai extended its reach in traditional finance and Web3. The network also achieved milestones in transaction volumes, with over 1.3 billion on-chain transactions, nearly a billion INJ burned, and innovative staking mechanisms boosting engagement. Through global community activations, developer bounties, and new tokenomics, Injective reinforced its vision for decentralized finance.
In 2024, Sei Network continued its growth as a key blockchain platform, enhancing scalability, performance, and community engagement through several strategic initiatives. The network’s Creator Fund Rounds 3 and 4 allocated over 1 million SEI (around $500,000) to support over 270 projects in developer tools, educational content, and Web3 gaming. Complementing this, the Sei GG: The Legendary Gauntlet gaming competition spotlighted Sei’s expanding gaming ecosystem, offering $50,000 in weekly prizes.
Simultaneously, Sei’s hybrid decentralized exchange, Filament, secured $1.1 million in seed funding to accelerate its development as a leading player in decentralized derivatives trading. By combining an order book with a liquidity pool, Filament aimed to provide CEX-like experiences in decentralized markets, leveraging Sei’s low-latency infrastructure.
Sei’s technological advancements were marked by the Sei Research Initiative, which worked on optimizing Ethereum's Virtual Machine (EVM) scalability, alongside the Giga Project, aiming for a 50x performance improvement. These initiatives helped Sei surpass $250 million in total value locked (TVL) on its mainnet, showing significant traction. The network also enhanced security and transparency with advanced Sybil detection measures, strengthening trust and fair distribution of funds.
In 2024, Sei launched Sei v2, a high-performance, parallelized EVM capable of supporting thousands of transactions per second with sub-400ms finality. The network’s Twin-Turbo Consensus and dual address support improved interoperability with both Ethereum and WebAssembly (Wasm) environments. Strategic partnerships, including collaborations with Meta Akita and introducing a new Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) for NFT unification, further solidified Sei’s role as a catalyst for decentralized innovation.
See also introduced significant funding opportunities, such as the $10M Creator Fund and the $50M Japan Ecosystem Fund, which support projects in gaming, NFTs, and social sectors. These efforts, alongside its Gitcoin partnership, quadratic funding, and community-driven projects, reaffirmed Sei's commitment to fostering an inclusive decentralized future.
Key updates include the introduction of GPU support for NVIDIA and AMD, the launch of its decentralized GPU Supercloud, and collaborative AI initiatives like Akash-Thumper. The Supercloud is designed to address the global GPU shortage, supporting scalable AI/ML workloads with integrations like Ray, Brev.dev, and Prime Intellect.
Partnerships have played a central role in Akash’s growth. Solve.Care leverages Akash for decentralized healthcare data management, Passage uses Akash for cost-efficient virtual world hosting, and FLock.io integrates Akash’s platform for federated learning, emphasizing data privacy and decentralized AI model training.
The Akash Accelerate '24 event highlighted the Supercloud’s capabilities and showcased the potential of Permissionless AI, with benefits like improved scalability, privacy, and cost-efficiency. Participation in ETHDenver 2024 reinforced Akash’s commitment to decentralized infrastructure and AI solutions.
Additionally, Witness Chain’s use of Akash to support its Proof of Location protocol demonstrates the platform’s flexibility in enabling verifiable, decentralized data solutions.
These developments underscore Akash Network’s role in advancing decentralized compute, AI, and blockchain infrastructure, bridging gaps between traditional systems and decentralized technologies.
In 2024, Osmosis, the Cosmos ecosystem's DeFi hub, processed over $11 billion in trading volume, bringing its total to nearly $38 billion since its inception, and generated over $10.5 million in protocol revenue—a threefold increase from 2023. Significant upgrades included the implementation of a Limit Order functionality with a novel Onchain Orderbook mechanism, enhancing the trading experience by enabling users to set buy/sell orders without manual trading or liquidity concerns.
Osmosis integrated with DEX Screener for enhanced visibility and introduced 1-Click Trading and Smart Accounts functionality, improving user experience through streamlined transactions and multiple authentication methods. Technical achievements involved upgrading the platform through successive Cosmos SDK versions, resulting in faster transaction processing (reducing block times from 6 seconds to 1.5 seconds), and the introduction of a Taker Fee Revenue Sharing protocol incentivizing chain liquidity provision.
Further advancements included a new SQS router for optimized trade routing and a Top-of-Block Auction mechanism for faster interchain arbitrage, generating nearly $60,000 in proceeds. Looking ahead, Osmosis is developing Polaris, a Token Portal aiming for a broader market reach, allowing one-click trading across all chains and slated for release in the first half of 2025; Osmosis will serve as its primary liquidity layer
Axelar Network has achieved significant milestones in 2024, including the mainnet launches of the Interchain Token Service (ITS) and the Axelar Virtual Machine (AVM), both crucial components of its Mobius Development Stack (MDS), which also incorporates enhanced security features through EigenLayer and Babylon integrations. The Interchain Amplifier, a key addition to the MDS, was successfully deployed to mainnet, enabling permissionless and dynamic connections of various blockchains to the Axelar network, significantly expanding its interoperability capabilities.
Axelar's progress also includes the establishment of an Amplifier Advisory Committee to oversee new chain integrations, with planned additions such as Flow, Hedera, Solana, Stacks, Stellar, Sui, and XRP Ledger, further broadening the network's reach and utility. To bolster security, Axelar is integrating with EigenLayer and Babylon protocols, allowing verifiers to use restaked ETH and BTC as collateral, respectively, strengthening cross-chain security without requiring additional capital.
Furthermore, Axelar is collaborating with OpenZeppelin to develop standardized cross-chain communication semantics, creating an open interoperability interface and empowering developers to build multichain-capable decentralized applications (dApps) more easily, while exploring improvements to network economics and AXL token utility through governance proposals.
In 2024, the Cosmos ecosystem experienced significant advancements that shaped its path toward a more scalable, secure, and interoperable blockchain network. The Cosmos Hub unveiled Partial Set Security (PSS), enabling permissionless consumer chain launches and reducing onboarding barriers. Meanwhile, collaborative efforts with Babylon Chain introduced Bitcoin staking, enhancing security through aggregated collateral. The Cosmos SDK evolved with the Olympus (v0.52) release, focusing on modularity, governance improvements, and long-term support to empower developers in building tailored blockchains.
The Interchain Foundation (ICF) acquired Skip, signaling a shift toward centralized development strategies under the new banner, Interchain Inc., with a focus on liquidity and ATOM token integration. Ecosystem initiatives like the Hermes Relayer v1.8.0 release and Solana’s AVS innovation expanded interoperability and liquidity opportunities. Additionally, new tools like Hydro, a decentralized liquidity auction platform, optimized fund allocation within the interchain.
Key advancements in Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) highlighted the protocol’s ability to connect over 110 blockchains, with innovations such as ICS-20 for token transfers and enhanced relayer functionality. Developers were celebrated through a quarterly Contributor Showcase, emphasizing the importance of community contributions. On the infrastructure front, the Interchain Stack continued its evolution, integrating CosmWasm for smart contract flexibility and CometBFT for improved consensus mechanisms.
Efforts to integrate Bitcoin security into the Cosmos Hub, alongside Atomic IBC research, showcased the ecosystem's drive for seamless composability and scalability. In the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) sector, the Cosmos SDK enabled real-time data updates and tailored blockchain solutions, reinforcing its utility across diverse applications.
2024 marked a transformative year for cheqd as the company reshaped the landscape of digital identity and artificial intelligence, starting with its recognition in the UK's Startups 100 Index for its innovative privacy-preserving payment network. This early recognition catalyzed a series of groundbreaking developments, including launching the first regulatory-compliant reusable KYC/KYB digital credential solution that reduced onboarding costs by 90% while maintaining compliance across more than 170 countries.
Throughout the year, cheqd strengthened its market position through strategic partnerships that expanded its technological capabilities and market reach. The collaboration with DSID brought on-chain reputation scores to the platform, while partnerships with Nuklai and Timpi enhanced AI data trust frameworks. A pivotal alliance with Dock accelerated the global adoption of decentralized identity solutions, significantly increasing network traffic and establishing a more robust ecosystem for digital identity verification.
The technical landscape saw remarkable advancement as cheqd successfully expanded its decentralized identity solutions to the Interchain using Cross-IBC ZK-Proofs, enabling seamless identity verification across multiple blockchain networks. The enhancement of cheqd Studio with improved API services and payment infrastructure, including support for USDC and EUROe stablecoins, created new opportunities for businesses to monetize and secure digital credentials.
In response to growing concerns about AI-generated content and deepfakes, cheqd developed innovative solutions through its Verifiable AI initiative, creating frameworks for content authenticity verification and trusted data markets. This development coincided with the introduction of comprehensive trust registries and new business models for reusable KYC, addressing critical needs across finance, healthcare, and telecommunications sectors.
The network's growth accelerated with its successful listing on MEXC Exchange and the launch of the 2024 Foundation Delegation Programme, which allocated 150 million CHEQ tokens to support ecosystem development. Technical improvements pushed network capabilities to over 5,000 transactions per second, establishing a robust foundation for future scaling.
As cheqd moves into 2025, its position at the intersection of digital identity, AI, and blockchain technology continues to strengthen, driven by its commitment to creating trusted digital interactions in an increasingly AI-driven world. The company focuses on expanding verifiable AI applications, enhancing cross-chain identity solutions, and developing innovative commercial models for digital credentials, setting the stage for continued growth and innovation in the digital identity space.
In 2024, Initia emerged as a pioneer in blockchain innovation, securing $7.5M in seed funding to launch its incentivized testnet, The Initiation, while introducing groundbreaking technologies and economic frameworks to address blockchain scalability and interoperability. The year began with the development of the Interwoven Rollups, a modular system combining Initia's Layer-1 blockchain with application-specific rollups (Minitias), enabling higher transaction throughput, lower gas fees, and seamless multi-chain experiences. Key features such as enshrined liquidity, native USDC support, instant bridging, and developer-friendly tools like InitiaScan and a dedicated wallet positioned Initia as a unique blockchain ecosystem.
Initia also launched the VIP framework, incentivizing ecosystem alignment through its native INIT token. The VIP system distributed rewards to Minitias and their users, driving engagement through a novel economic design and promoting sustained growth. Genesis validators were selected to enhance network security and efficiency, ensuring Initia's infrastructure remained robust and permissionless.
To tackle cross-rollup communication challenges, Initia developed Rapid Relayer, a high-speed IBC relayer capable of processing millions of messages with parallelized efficiency, supported by Restaked Relayers to maintain reliability and decentralization. The network adopted a hybrid approach, using Hermes as the primary relayer and Rapid Relayer for peak loads, creating a seamless and scalable inter-chain experience.
Through its Interwoven Stack, Initia redefined blockchain scalability with a VM-agnostic optimistic rollup framework, integrating tools like OPHost, OPChild, and OPinit Bots to streamline developer workflows and enhance user experiences. These innovations supported a multi-VM ecosystem, fostering diverse application development while addressing interoperability and security challenges with advanced mechanisms like Minitswap for instant L2-to-L1 withdrawals.
2024 was a transformative year for the Secret Network, marked by groundbreaking advancements in Decentralized Confidential Computing (DeCC), impactful partnerships, and an engaged global community driving privacy innovation in Web3. The ecosystem thrived with hackathons, integrations, and new tools that expanded its reach and utility for developers, businesses, and users alike.
Major initiatives included the HackSecret series, which inspired developers worldwide to build privacy-focused applications using Secret Network's unique capabilities, offering prizes and fostering collaborations with platforms like Linea, Scroll, and Aurora. Events like ETHDenver, EthCC, and the Futurist Conference showcased the network's role in shaping the future of confidential computing, with new dApps for private voting, secure random numbers, and more emerging as use cases.
The launch of tools like SnakePath, SecretPath, and integrations with Gnosis Chain, Arbitrum, and Solana brought privacy to Ethereum-based and cross-chain ecosystems, enabling secure communication, private transactions, and enhanced dApp functionalities. Platforms like Stashh and SilentSwap gained traction, highlighting growing interest in private NFTs and confidential asset trading, while Shade Protocol achieved milestones with its SILK stablecoin and the introduction of dSHD liquid staking.
Collaborations with NVIDIA, Akash Network, and other industry leaders drove the adoption of DeCC in AI and blockchain applications. Partnerships with healthcare and gaming platforms like MuhdoHealth and Satoshi’s Palace demonstrated how privacy enhances real-world use cases, from secure health data to immersive gaming experiences.
Secret Network also prioritized education and community growth through initiatives like the Secret Builders Program, Grants Program, and DeCC Days, which empowered developers and startups to create privacy-first solutions. Media features and recognition of ecosystem leaders further solidified its presence as a frontrunner in privacy technology
2024 marked significant progress for Dymension, with key milestones achieved in its mission to establish a modular Internet of Rollups. The year kicked off with the Genesis Rolldrop, a 70,000,000 DYM token airdrop rewarding active users across blockchain ecosystems like Cosmos, Solana, Arbitrum, and Celestia. This event laid the foundation for robust community participation, extending into post-genesis programs incentivizing liquidity and bridging activities.
The launch of the Dymension Mainnet initiated a phased development strategy to foster network stability, IBC connectivity, and community governance. A structured approach through the RollApp Draft introduced a framework for onboarding RollApps, providing funding, marketing support, and infrastructure resources to selected projects. The introduction of Dymension RollApp Standards (DRS) enhanced security with fraud proofs, leveraging IBC for interoperability and EVM compatibility to simplify blockchain integrations.
Strategic innovations like the 3D Upgrade further democratized blockchain deployment, enabling creators to launch RollApps effortlessly while integrating tools like Initial RollApp Offerings (IROs) to seed liquidity and grow communities. Enhancements such as Endorsements, a weight-based voting system, empowered DYM stakers to allocate rewards dynamically across liquidity pools and RollApps, driving ecosystem growth.
Operators and users also benefitted from new earning opportunities, including liquidity provisioning for fast RollApp withdrawals and incentivized infrastructure management. With initiatives like eIBC and decentralized sequencers, Dymension is building a scalable, interconnected blockchain economy, advancing its vision of an Internet of RollApps.
In 2024, Berachain emerged as a transformative force in the blockchain landscape by introducing Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL), a consensus mechanism that bridges the gap between DeFi users, validators, and protocols. Through its innovative tri-token model (BERA, BGT, HONEY), Berachain addressed key challenges in blockchain adoption while fostering a sustainable ecosystem.
The year marked several significant developments, including the launch of BeaconKit, a modular framework enabling EVM-identical development, and Berachain V2, which enhanced scalability through single-slot finality and improved execution layer separation. These technical achievements laid the groundwork for a diverse ecosystem of applications, from Kodiak's DEX solutions to Exponents' oracle-free derivatives.
Developer adoption accelerated with comprehensive tools and frameworks, including Hardhat integration for smart contract deployment, Thirdweb SDK for wallet connectivity, and LayerZero's V2 protocol for seamless token bridging. The platform's commitment to user experience manifested in consumer-focused applications like PuffPaw's vape-to-earn program and Beratone's blockchain gaming experience.
The introduction of Boyco, Berachain's pre-launch liquidity platform, demonstrated the network's strategic approach to ecosystem growth, carefully selecting projects across key verticals while maintaining high security and value creation standards. This preparation phase sets the stage for a robust mainnet launch, supported by the platform's unique reward vault system that incentivizes sustainable protocol development.
Looking ahead, Berachain's focus on application-layer value creation, coupled with its novel approach to protocol-owned liquidity, positions the network to address the persistent challenges of capital efficiency and user engagement in blockchain networks. The ecosystem's emphasis on real-world utility and sustainable incentive structures suggests a promising trajectory for blockchain adoption beyond traditional DeFi applications.