- Ripple, Telegram (TAC), and Stride have launched sovereign EVM chains built on the Cosmos stack
- Ripple brings native DeFi to its $127B+ XRP ecosystem
- TAC enables Telegram’s 1B+ users to access EVM dApps without leaving the app
- Stride unveils a Cosmos-native DEX for swaps across Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin, and more
At the inaugural Sovereign EVM Day held on June 30 at the Hotel Belle Plage, Cosmos positioned itself as the infrastructure backbone for the emerging multi-chain blockchain ecosystem.
Organized by Cosmos and Interop Ventures, the summit brought together over 18 prominent blockchain projects, including Ripple, TAC, Stride, Starknet, Polygon, Babylon, and Pantera.
The event saw the unveiling of new sovereign EVM chains built on the Cosmos stack — a strategic development that reinforces Cosmos’ vision as the “Internet of Blockchains.”
Why It Matters?
The move toward sovereign EVM chains underscores a major shift in how blockchain networks are scaling and interconnecting. With traditional monolithic blockchains facing congestion and high gas fees, modular networks and sovereign chains offer a tailored, scalable alternative. Cosmos’ Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, now enhanced to include Ethereum and soon Solana, creates a seamless experience for users and developers to build decentralized applications that span multiple ecosystems.
According to a recent report by Messari, sovereign Layer 1 chains are experiencing rapid growth due to the flexibility they offer in governance, tokenomics, and interoperability. The integration of EVM compatibility into sovereign chains is a game-changer — enabling massive user bases, such as those of Ripple and Telegram, to access decentralized applications without relying on centralized intermediaries.
Ripple’s DeFi Push: $127B Ecosystem Goes EVM
Ripple’s announcement of its EVM-compatible XRPL sidechain, developed with Peersyst and built using the Cosmos SDK, is among the summit’s headline revelations. With XRP’s market capitalization exceeding $127 billion, this integration introduces decentralized finance capabilities to millions of XRP holders for the first time. The XRPL EVM sidechain allows users to interact with DeFi applications across Cosmos, Ethereum, and other chains via the IBC protocol.
Ferran Torres, CEO of Peersyst, highlighted that the XRPL EVM chain will facilitate consumer-facing applications, ranging from lending protocols to NFT marketplaces — all while using XRP as the base asset. Luke Judges of Ripple called it “a turning point for the XRP ecosystem,” one that transforms the chain into a full-stack financial platform.
Telegram’s Billion Users Step into DeFi via TAC
Equally transformative is TAC’s introduction of an EVM chain for Telegram’s billion-plus users. Marco Monaco, TAC’s co-founder, demonstrated how TAC will integrate natively with Telegram and TON, enabling users to interact with decentralized applications directly within the messaging platform.
This approach could redefine user onboarding in crypto. Telegram already has over 900 million monthly active users, many of whom are exposed to crypto via TON-based bots like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat. TAC’s integration extends that familiarity to a full EVM-compatible ecosystem, bridging TON with Ethereum, Cosmos, and beyond through IBC.
According to Electric Capital’s 2024 Developer Report, EVM remains the dominant virtual machine in crypto, powering over 70% of active developer work. TAC’s approach of embedding EVM into existing social infrastructure could become the template for consumer-grade crypto adoption.
Stride’s IBC-Powered DEX: A New Layer for Multichain Liquidity
Stride Labs’ upcoming DEX introduces a Cosmos-native alternative to fragmented cross-chain liquidity pools. With the support of the Interchain Foundation, Stride is building a high-throughput DEX that supports swaps across Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin, and Cosmos via IBC Eureka — a protocol-level enhancement for frictionless interoperability.
The DEX aims to abstract complexity for the user, offering one-click routing through Cosmos Hub. This positions Cosmos not just as a network of chains, but as a liquidity hub for the broader DeFi ecosystem. Stride’s approach also aligns with the Modular Blockchain Thesis advocated by Celestia and EigenLayer, where execution, data availability, and consensus are split across specialized chains.
Cosmos EVM: The Only Fully Integrated EVM Layer 1 Stack
At the heart of these developments is Cosmos EVM, the first fully integrated EVM Layer 1 stack in the market. Built using the Cosmos SDK, this stack provides developers granular control over chain logic while retaining Ethereum compatibility. It allows projects to customize their blockchain without sacrificing access to the larger EVM and IBC ecosystems.
Barry Plunkett and Maghnus Mareneck, Co-CEOs of Interchain Labs, opened the summit by showcasing Cosmos’ evolution. “Sovereign EVM Day solidified the Internet of Blockchains as a reality,” Plunkett said. “We are bringing together ecosystems to build new classes of applications that were never possible before.”
A Global Trend Toward Sovereignty and Interoperability
The Sovereign EVM movement reflects a growing industry-wide pivot toward infrastructure sovereignty and cross-chain coordination. Projects like Anoma and Namada, which also participated in the event, have advocated for private, application-specific chains. Polygon and Starknet, while not based on Cosmos, are exploring similar modular design philosophies.
This trend aligns with a16z Crypto’s 2023 “Modularity Manifesto”, which predicts that monolithic chains will eventually give way to sovereign modular architectures due to performance and composability advantages.
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