Radical change at the ICF: A new era for the Cosmos ecosystem?
The acquisition of Skip and the creation of Interchain Inc. signals a refocusing on centralized leadership and a unified vision
Cosmos co-founder Ethan Buchman | Permissionless II by Blockworks
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The Interchain Foundation (ICF) has acquired Skip, a 20-person team deeply embedded in the Cosmos ecosystem, signaling a transformative shift in its operational model. The acquisition establishes a new subsidiary, Interchain Inc., which will oversee product development, ecosystem strategy and execution, led by Skip co-founders Barry Plunkett and Maghnus Mareneck.
The move departs from ICF’s previous model of funding independent teams to develop parts of the Cosmos stack. Instead, it centralizes development efforts to align work across the Cosmos Hub, its tech stack and the broader ecosystem.
Ethan Buchman, Cosmos co-founder and an outgoing ICF Foundation Council member, praised the acquisition as a pivotal step forward.
“[It’s] time to realize all the latent potential seething beneath the surface of the [Cosmos] and the [Cosmos Hub],” Buchman said. His company, Informal Systems, previously coordinated major upgrades like Interchain Security (ICS) and had identified Skip as its top choice for leadership in the ecosystem.
Informal Systems had made a “small angel investment” in Skip in 2022, but Buchman emphasized that the investment was repurchased by Skip to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest.
Plunkett described the acquisition as a deeply emotional moment for Skip, rooted in his ideological alignment with Cosmos’ mission. “Cosmos is the last ecosystem and stack that truly upholds the values of our movement: sovereignty for users and developers, permissionlessness, and trust-minimization,” Plunkett said on X.
Tackling Cosmos’ ‘liquidity crisis’
Skip aims to resolve what Plunkett calls a liquidity crisis in Cosmos. The lack of liquidity has hindered developers, driving many to alternative ecosystems. The Cosmos Hub and its native token, ATOM, will play a central role in addressing this issue.
The Cosmos tech stack — including the Cosmos SDK, IBC protocol, and CometBFT consensus — is utilized by over 115 interconnected blockchains and secures billions in assets. However, fragmentation, political strife and a lack of unifying leadership have created challenges for developers in recent years.
“The Cosmos Hub right now doesn’t serve any kind of functions for the broader ecosystem, and it’s extremely hard to build on,” Plunkett told Blockworks. “We need to fix that by making it easier for builders and ensuring the Hub provides services to grow and scale chains, especially in terms of liquidity.”
The acquisition is part of ICF’s broader strategy to centralize engineering, growth and marketing efforts, creating a cohesive vision for the development of the Cosmos Hub and the Interchain Stack.
Skip and ICF will seek endorsement from Cosmos Hub governance for their plan in January.
“But ultimately, we don’t have control over that at all,” Mareneck said.
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