Thread by @interchain_io

1/ In light of the discussions and on-chain disclosures around #Prop103 on the @cosmoshub, we wish to clarify our funding for @confio_tech

Among other things, Confio are the developers of CosmWasm, a library used by many chains in the interchain to enable smart contracts.

2/ It is inspiring to see the @cosmoshub community coming together to support @confio_tech’s Public Goods work. The Hub has a long history of funding Public Goods that benefit the entire interchain, and we are happy to see that tradition continues today.

3/ We are also happy to hear that @osmosiszone & @JunoNetwork had funded Confio for Public Goods late last year, as well as the new Osmo grant & positive signals from others incl @Neutron_org & @StargazeZone

https://twitter.com/Neutron_org/status/1621177004686217216?s=20

https://twitter.com/StargazeZone/status/1627742189668208676?s=19

https://twitter.com/sunnya97/status/1621222493204713475?s=19

4/ The Interchain Foundation, in its aim to support innovations that foster the growth of the interchain, had funded @confio_tech since at least June 2019.

We understood the value of CosmWasm (and CosmJS) as vital Public Goods, as well as the talent of the team at Confio.

5/ We funded the initial development of CosmWasm & continued funding its continuous development between Jun’19-Sep’22 - a period of 3+ yrs.

Among other things, we also funded Confio to develop CosmJS & the TypeScript IBC Relayer.

github.com/confio/ts-rela…
github.com/cosmos/cosmjs

6/ To further accelerate ecosystem growth in 2022, ICF was supporting growth across a number of orgs, including Confio, but we halted that growth initiative in early Summer.

Confio wanted to leverage its growth to build the CosmWasm Developer Academy.

medium.com/the-interchain…

7/ With the ICF’s priority for maintaining long-term sustainable funding for the Interchain Stack, it did not align with @confio_tech’s plans for the CosmWasm Developer Academy.

8/  Unfortunately, this resulted in the Confio team deciding to cancel the rest of its contract with the Interchain Foundation, opting to instead get funding from the L1 chains that utilize CosmWasm.

9/ To clarify, we never intended to stop funding the development & maintenance of CosmWasm or CosmJS.

The ICF had continued to remain open to supporting CosmWasm’s development - it is a core building block of the interchain.

10/ Following discussions that started in Jan, on 14 Feb’23, we agreed on a max budget of $1.62 million USD in funding for Q2-Q4 2023. We are currently finalizing this contract with @confio_tech

The scope of work will include the development and maintenance of CosmWasm & CosmJS.

11/ During the period Jun’19-Sep’22, apart from funding the CW Dev Academy, the ICF gave @confio_tech all the funding and support they requested, for work done on behalf of and in support of the wider interchain.

12/ In total, our support for @confio_tech during Jun’19-Sep’22 amounted to CHF 2.19 million (incl ATOM payments priced at market rate at payment date).

13/ Lack of funding for public goods is a systemic problem everywhere.

CosmWasm and CosmJS are essential parts of the Interchain Stack. As such, we as a community should make sure those key pieces of the stack and the teams working on them are sustainably and adequately funded.