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The Interchain Foundation is funding the Tharsis Labs team to release an open-source evmOS, the Ethereum-compatible layer 1 solution targeted at boosting interoperability between Ethereum and Cosmos. The funding will see Tharsis Labs open-source evmOS, bringing Cosmos’ ( ATOM ) functionality to users on the Ethereum ( ETH ) network. Interchain Foundation, the entity helping to advance the Cosmos ecosystem and its Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol, announced the development on March 18. With evmOS, developers can build EVM-powered decentralized applications and chains using the Cosmos software development kit. Tharsis Labs will open-source the Ethereum virtual machine-compatible software under the Apache 2.0 license, Interchain Foundation said. In this case, ICF will fork evmOS’ technology and rename it Cosmos EVM, which will allow the Cosmos ecosystem’s steward to continue the project’s development. Cosmos EVM will be part of the Interchain Stack and be built under the Interchain Labs team. “We feel this is the right thing for the community for the longevity of the code we’ve developed, and are excited about the ICF’s support of this. I look forward to contributing to this next phase in a strategic advisory role,” said Federico Kunze Küllmer, co-founder of evmOS and representative of Tharsis Labs. According to the ICF, an open-source provenance will see further integration of the forked tech stack, bringing permissionless innovation to the space. The integration of evmOS as the main EVM solution for Cosmos targets benefits such as cross-chain communication for the scaling of DeFi applications. Despite the funding and forking of the evmOS, the ICF says it remains committed to the projec’s roadmap. As well as Ethereum compatibility, the Interchain Foundation aims to build evmOS into the solution all proof-of-stake networks can tap into for fresh web3 adoption. “evmOS has been a critical piece in bridging the Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems, and we are excited to support its continued evolution under the Interchain Foundation umbrella,” Josh Cincinnati, president of the ICF’s Foundation Council, said. In July last year, LayerZero Labs partnered with Initia Labs for an interoperability standard for Cosmos. The collaboration aimed to bring omnichain interoperability to Cosmos SDK and LayerZero-enabled chains.

Halliday, an artificial intelligence powered startup helping automate services for any workflow, has secured $20 million in a funding round led by venture capital behemoth Andreessen Horowitz. In an announcement on March 18, Halliday said the funding will accelerate the development of its Workflow Protocol, a solution designed to enable developers to create financial applications without writing smart contracts by leveraging blockchain and AI technology. Silicon Valley-based a16z’s crypto VC unit led the Series A funding round, which also attracted investments from SV Angel, Credibly Neutral, and Blizzard Fund. Halliday’s collaboration with financial institutions, including charter banks and payment providers, gets traction from the company’s workflows. Removing the need to write smart contracts every time a developer wants to create or deploy a program is critical to this growth. “Smart contracts have long been the default way the industry builds applications on-chain. However, smart contract development resembles hardware engineering more than software engineering: it is slow, expensive, and dangerous,” the startup posted on X. AI integration on-chain is also a huge hurdle, thanks to compliance and safety issues. Halliday’s Workflow Protocol offers a solution to these challenges, making it possible for financial institutions and other companies to integrate web3. According to the startup, the Workflow Protocol automates any flow. It includes on-ramping to new layer 1 and layer 2 chains, handling recurring payments and yield maximization. The protocol also automates any workflows in treasury management and business to business agents. Halliday has tested its workflow system since 2023, with its payment flows already integrated by Avalanche, ApeCoin, DeFi Kingdoms, and Story Protocol. The startup partnered with SKALE Network in May 2024 and ApeChain in June 2024. A16z also led Halliday’s $6 million seed round in August 2024. At the time, Halliday said the funds would support blockchain gaming and metaverse ecosystems.

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Merlin Chain partners with BNB Chain to launch cross-chain bridge Bitcoin (BTC) layer-2 platform Merlin Chain (MERL) announced on X a partnership with BNB Chain, introducing a cross-chain bridge that allows users to transfer $MERL and $mBTC between the two ecosystems. The…

Canary Capital has submitted its sixth cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal to U.S. regulators, this time seeking approval for an ETF tracking the spot price of Sui (SUI). The firm filed a Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 17, requesting to list the Canary SUI ETF. However, the filing did not specify which exchange the ETF would trade on or its proposed ticker symbol. If approved, the fund would directly hold Sui (SUI), the native token of the layer-1 blockchain used for transaction fees and staking.