Osmosis Co-founder Doesn’t See Cosmos and Polkadot as Competitors

Osmosis’ latest integration will enable swaps between Cosmos, Polkadot and Ethereum

article-image

Sunny Aggarwal, co-founder of Osmosis Labs | Source: Osmosis

share

key takeaways

  • Polkadot’s native token will be the first to move between the ecosystems
  • “Our goal is to provide the best DEX possible for the entire crypto ecosystem and the interchain world that is coming into reality,” Sunny Aggarwal said

Osmosis, a cross-chain automated market maker on Cosmos, has expanded its services to Polkadot and Ethereum-based tokens through integration with Axelar and Moonbeam. 

Cross-chain swaps allow decentralized finance (DeFi) dApp developers to expand their reach between different blockchain ecosystems. 

Osmosis’ latest integration, which enables transactions via Inter-Blockchain Communication, will support one-click swaps between the different blockchains, starting with Polkadot’s native token DOT.

“Our goal for Osmosis is not just to be a Cosmos DEX, our goal is to provide the best DEX possible for the entire crypto ecosystem and the interchain world that is coming into reality,” Sunny Aggarwal, co-founder of Osmosis Labs, told Blockworks.

Aggarwal wanted to make sure that Osmosis had a single canonical bridge to connect different networks. This would give the team capability to execute more functionality in a timely manner. 

A governance voting process that involved four other bridge providers was motioned. Blockchain interoperability startup Axelar was chosen as the primary cross-chain infrastructure.

“Axelar’s UX was very similar to what we were looking for and much more seamless than a lot of the others,” Aggarwal said, adding that Axelar had faster connectivity and a better security model. 

Polkadot and Cosmos are often considered competitors, but Aggarwal hasn’t thought of the two projects in that way. Rather, they’re simply different frameworks for building dApp chains, he said. 

Indeed, this latest collaboration between the two blockchains demonstrates a commitment to deeper integration. 

“The point of building these interoperability protocols is not just to interoperate within tiny ecosystems,” Aggarwal said. “Polkadot is a big ecosystem that has a lot of interesting assets. Our plan is to be able to continue to connect every ecosystem possible.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

REPORT_Template.png

Research

The Sonic blockchain is leveraging redesigned airdrop incentives and its FeeM program to propel DeFi activity and attract institutional capital, setting the stage for ecosystem growth. Within this environment, leading protocols Shadow Exchange and Silo are poised to asymmetrically benefit due to innovative features and favorable valuations, despite facing ecosystem dependency and competitive pressures. This positions them as compelling, potentially shorter-term, investment opportunities contingent on Sonic's sustained success.

article-image

Bitcoin needs a price, but its magic runs deeper

article-image

Circle had a pretty successful first day of trading, but what’s next for the stablecoin issuer?

article-image

Solana’s USDC caught a boost after being paired with the TRUMP memecoin

article-image

The stablecoin issuer’s successful first day of trading is likely to spur more crypto IPOs, industry watchers say

article-image

Job openings rallied and continuing claims stalled ahead of May’s employment report

article-image

A group of Twitch streamers battle for bitcoin. Will their chats help them?