Interchain Foundation Acquires Skip to Centralize Cosmos Development
The Interchain Foundation (ICF) has acquired Skip, a team of 20 focused on the Cosmos ecosystem. This acquisition creates a new subsidiary, Interchain Inc., which will manage product development and ecosystem strategy under the leadership of Skip co-founders Barry Plunkett and Maghnus Mareneck.
This shift moves away from ICF’s previous funding model for independent teams to a centralized approach that coordinates development across the Cosmos Hub and its tech stack.
Ethan Buchman, Cosmos co-founder, highlighted this acquisition as a significant advancement for the ecosystem. He noted the need to harness the potential within the Cosmos and praised Skip as an ideal leader for the initiative.
Informal Systems, which previously invested in Skip, arranged for the repurchase of its stake to avoid conflicts of interest.
Plunkett expressed emotional alignment with Cosmos' mission, emphasizing values like user sovereignty and trust-minimization.
Tackling Cosmos’ ‘liquidity crisis’
Skip aims to address a liquidity crisis in Cosmos that has limited developer activity, pushing many towards other ecosystems. The Cosmos Hub and its native token, ATOM, are crucial in resolving this issue.
The Cosmos tech stack, comprising the Cosmos SDK, IBC protocol, and CometBFT consensus, supports over 115 interconnected blockchains. However, challenges such as fragmentation and lack of leadership have complicated development efforts.
Plunkett indicated that the current Cosmos Hub does not effectively support the broader ecosystem and that improvements are necessary to facilitate building and enhance liquidity services.
The acquisition is part of ICF’s strategy to centralize engineering, growth, and marketing, aiming for unified development of the Cosmos Hub and Interchain Stack. Skip and ICF plan to seek governance endorsement from the Cosmos Hub in January.