Kava Network Update

The Kava Network is one of the projects that we have covered a couple of times in our daily market posts and we posted it once in our newsletter. Like many projects, Kava is a Layer 1 smart contract platform and allows others to build on top of it. Kava is part of the Cosmos ecosystem and is connected with other Cosmos zones (blockchains like Terra Luna and Osmosis) through IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communications Protocol). 

If you look up Kava on DeFi Llama (a TVL tracking website) you see that the chain holds just over $600mln TVL over only three projects. It shows that the chain is still under development. 

The Kava Co-chain

Many projects that are building on Kava are waiting for the launch of the Ethereum Co-chain and Kava 10. EVMos is not the only project aiming to bridge the EVM world with the Cosmos ecosystem and Kava has similar ambitions. 

For those that do not know, EVM is short for Ethereum Virtual Machine and is one of the common standards in the blockchain space. Many Layer 1 blockchains are EVM-compatible meaning that they work similar to Ethereum and have the same standards, such as smart contracts written in Solidity. 

Cosmos chains are not EVM-compatible as they are designed and constructed in a whole different way. Historically, this created two separate worlds. On one hand EVM-chains and on the other the Cosmos ecosystem. With the development of sophisticated bridges and now the launch of EVM-compatible Cosmos chains, such as EVMos, these worlds are brought together more closely. Which is very important as it allows for a more easy flow of capital across these major blockchain ecosystems. 

The Kava Co-chain is another attempt to bring EVM and Cosmos together. Already, Kava Co-chain has important infrastructural integrations such as Chainlink, the Graph and an Ethereum bridge. These three are important to grant easy and secure access to the Co-chain. The Co-chain has been in beta since early April and is set to go live on May 10th. An important catalyst for Kava. 

Developer incentive fund

To add to this all Kava has devoted $750mln to an incentive program to fund projects that are building on Kava and the Kava Co-chain. Generally speaking these types of funds are important incentives for users and developers to come over to a new chain and we expect that it is important for Kava to have one. The $750mln incentive fund is dubbed ‘Kava Rise’ and for the majority focused on Play-2-Earn games and DeFi projects on Kava. The funds are coming from block rewards that are distributed to the builders. 

Conclusion

Kava is a Layer 1 smart contract platform initially built on Cosmos, but is now expanding its wings to the world of EVM in the form of the Kava Co-chain. This chain is compatible with both the Cosmos ecosystem as EVM-compatible blockchains, like Ethereum and Avalanche.Combined with the incentive fund of $750mln that has been set aside to incentivize activity and development on the chain we expect that Kava is heading towards exciting times.