Babylon’s Testnet Launch Brings Bitcoin Security to PoS Chains in an Evolving Multi-Chain World
Born in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Bitcoin has become synonymous with security and stability amidst the world’s uncertainties. Boasting an impressive track record since its first transaction block in 2009, the Bitcoin network has never shut down, and no bitcoin has ever been stolen from the blockchain. This unparalleled security is what Babylon aims to bring to the Cosmos ecosystem and beyond.
By integrating with Cosmos zones, Babylon not only delivers Bitcoin security to these networks but also channels the value of PoS ecosystems into the Bitcoin network. As the blockchain landscape evolves with the emergence of Cosmos SDK chains, Polygon supernets, and Avalanche subnets, it’s evident that we are transitioning towards a multi-chain world with numerous sovereign and interconnected App chains. In this dynamic environment, security remains a critical challenge for these blockchains, and Babylon is here to address it. Babylon’s innovative technology combines the security of Bitcoin with the decentralized and scalable architecture of App chains, effectively overcoming the Blockchain Trilemma.
Babylon’s Origins
Babylon’s origins come from a research paper about Bitcoin security co-authored by co-founder of Babylon David Tse, a professor at Stanford and Ethereum 2.0 researcher, and the founder of EigenLayer Sreeram Kannan. Additionally, the Babylon Technical Paper has reached a noteworthy achievement as it was recently accepted by the 2023 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, which is recognized as the world’s leading security conference.
Industry Leaders Weigh in on Babylon’s Testnet Launch
Sreeram Kannan, co-founder of EigenLayer and an ardent supporter of Babylon, said: “Programming became composable when you could import existing programs to build new programs. Babylon makes trust composable by allowing blockchains to #import bitcoin security. It is great to see the Babylon team build this tantalizing vision into reality with the launch of this testnet.”
Zaki Manian, co-founder of Sommelier Protocol and an advisor to the Babylon team since its inception, expressed his excitement about Babylon’s potential, saying, “Integrating Bitcoin security into the App chain world signifies a grand unification of the blockchain space. I’m thrilled to see this vision becoming a reality.”
Greg Osuri, Founder of Akash Network, also spoke highly of Babylon Chain: “It offers a unique way for App chains like Akash to leverage Bitcoin’s security, extending the chain lifetime while optimizing emissions to incentivize behavior rather than security.”
Integration with Cosmos SDK Chains
Babylon has successfully integrated with eleven top Cosmos SDK chains, earning support from prominent Cosmos leaders and showcasing the high demand for its technology. These integrations include Osmosis, Injective, Akash, Juno, Secret Network, Nibiru, Evmos, Stride, Desmos, Stargaze, and Sei. Let’s explore a few use cases to highlight the impact of Babylon’s integration with different chains.
Osmosis : By integrating with Babylon, Osmosis gains Bitcoin security and a significant reduction in secure stake unbonding time — from weeks to just a few hours. Furthermore, Babylon’s solution provides essential protection for high-value asset transfers across bridges between PoS chains.
Stride: Stride’s integration with Babylon explores the benefits of fast stake unbonding for improving liquid staking protocols. Fast unbonding can enhance the health of the peg between the liquid staking token and the native token. Additionally, Stride’s use of the replicated security of the Cosmos Hub, along with Babylon’s Bitcoin security solution, showcases the power of composable security.
Babylon’s solution complements both the Replicated Security of the Cosmos Hub and the Mesh Security of Osmosis.
Akash: The Akash Network, through Babylon’s advanced security measures integration, gains Bitcoin security and fast stake unbonding. Babylon’s capabilities also fortify tokens and assets traded on the platform against double-spend attacks and other security threats, promoting trust and confidence. Ultimately, this allows Akash to reduce the economic value of security and allocate its tokens for more innovative and useful purposes.
Injective : Babylon’s integration with Injective offers Bitcoin security and a reduced secure stake unbonding time from weeks to a few hours. Furthermore, Babylon’s solution provides essential protection for high-value asset transfers across bridges between PoS chains, fostering an environment of trust and confidence in the platform.
Babylon is actively exploring other applications and industry segments where its security solution can make a significant impact. More use cases of Babylon will soon follow, demonstrating its potential to enhance security and efficiency across various blockchain ecosystems.
Bitcoin as a source of trust
With security being the foundation of any successful blockchain, Babylon aims to bring Bitcoin security to all PoS chains, with no additional energy consumption. The crypto market is currently valued at $1 trillion, with Bitcoin alone making up 40% of the total market cap. The rest of the market is primarily secured by PoS chains, making up a $600 billion asset. With Babylon’s approach, the potential value of elevating the security of these assets is far greater than $1 billion.
Babylon leverages Bitcoin as a source of trust to provide secure and verifiable Bitcoin timestamps to other blockchains and DApps in the broader ecosystem. The Babylon architecture comprises three key components, including Bitcoin as the timestamping service, the Babylon chain as the middle layer checkpoint verifier and aggregator, and other PoS chains and Dapps such as Cosmos zones as the consumers of Bitcoin security. With Babylon’s approach, PoS chains can now reduce the secure stake unbonding time from weeks to as short as a few hours. Additionally, Babylon’s solution provides much-needed protection for high-value asset transfers across bridges between PoS chains.
Funding and Future Plans
Babylon has raised $8M in a seed round led by IDG and Breyer Capital (early investors in Coinbase and Circle) and plans to raise additional funds to support developer outreach and other initiatives in the coming months.
