Whether you’re new to the Cosmos or just in need of an ecosystem refresh, this is the guide for you. With recent upward trends in the market, meme coins galore, airdrops left and right, and seemingly a new project, product, and feature to learn about each day, there are three things that one might be thinking: how do I keep up with Cosmos? and all the other ecosystems too?
And the third, perhaps most important thought as we jump headfirst into 2024…
We are so back.
This is your Squid Guide to the Cosmos, where you’ll learn how Squid is powering interoperability across the Cosmos and Ethereum, along with a step-by-step guide for how to swap to, from, and across the Cosmos with Squid. Let’s dive in.
Overview of Squid and the Cosmos
What is the Cosmos?
The Cosmos is a blockchain that exists independently from Ethereum, developed as a scalable solution to open-source blockchains and intended for seamless communication between individual projects and chains. The Cosmos was built to continue growing, making it a more sustainable option for all decentralized applications.
To ensure that blockchains can communicate safely, Cosmos uses the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, along with hubs and the Tendermint consensus algorithm. The IBC plays an important role for Axelar and Squid’s contribution to Cosmos, which we’ll flesh out in the following section.
What roles do Squid and Axelar play in the Cosmos?
While the Cosmos offers flexibility for developers to build using the Cosmos SDK and optimal interoperability between Cosmos projects, it is the communication between Cosmos and Ethereum that is lacking. This is where Axelar and Squid come in.
Squid enables fast and easy communication between Cosmos and EVM via cross-chain routing, so that users on both sides can swap their assets to and from these different chains, and also swap between Cosmos chains. Thus increasing the possibilities for developers to tap into separate networks, connecting ecosystems and communities that have previously been limited to this level of connectivity.
Squid utilizes Axelar to send orders through Osmosis DEX before swapping via IBC to the final desired assets. You can find a great example of how Cosmos supports standalone blockchains and how Squid further empowers interoperability across chains, in our past blog about Squid’s integration dYdX v4.
Guide
Here’s how to get from EVM to Cosmos (and back again) using Squid. So that you can easily get into all the action on Ethereum and on Cosmos, without all the hassle.
Step 1: Choose a wallet
You’ll need a Cosmos compatible wallet to start your journey. Here’s a list of Squid supported wallets to choose from:
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Cosmos MetaMask Snaps by Mystic Labs or Leap
Step 2: Choose a chain to explore
As explained earlier, Cosmos is an ever-expanding ecosystem of chains… and Squid supports 40+ of them (and counting). Below is a complete list of Squid-supported Cosmos chains. Choose whichever one you want and start your cross-chain exploration into the Cosmos today:
Osmosis, Cosmos Hub, Kujira, Neutron, Stargaze, Axelar, Umee, Secret, Persistence, Sommelier, Stride, Crescent, Terra, Juno, Evmos, Carbon, Regen, Agoric, Injective, Chihuahua, Akash, Comdex, Archway, Quicksilver, OmniFlix, Migaloo, Mars Hub, Terra Classic, AssetMantle, Gravity Bridge, BitCanna, BitSong, Cheqd, Decentr, Desmos, IRISnet, Impacthub, Jackal, LikeCoin, Lum Network, Sentinel, Noble, Nolus, Kava IBC, dYdX, Celestia.
Step 3: Connect your EVM and Cosmos wallets to app.squidrouter.com
When sending tokens from EVM to Cosmos, you will be prompted to add a destination address. You can fill this address by connecting a second wallet on the destination chain, or by copy-pasting a compatible address into the “Send to a custom address” section.
Step 4: Select your source chain and token
Choose the token and chain you would like to swap from via the drop down lists in the “From” section. Tokens in your wallet on that chain will be displayed at the top of the list.
Step 5: Select your destination chain and token
Choose the token and chain you would like to swap to via the drop downs lists in the “To” section.
Please note: When selecting your destination chain, make sure you have some gas. Sometimes applications in the Cosmos have their own blockchain, which is great for scalability but can be confusing if you’re new. When connecting or sending assets to a new application, it might be a new chain too, so just make sure you get some gas to pay for transactions.
Step 6: Review and confirm your swap
After selecting your source and destination tokens and chains, enter the amount of tokens you wish to send. This amount should be inputted in the "From" section. The equivalent value in dollars will appear in dollars as per Coingecko’s price information. A detailed quote for your cross-chain swap or transfer will appear in the sections below.
If your wallet is connected to a different chain than the one you are sending from, you will be asked to switch networks before submitting. If you are swapping from a token on a specific chain for the first time, you will be asked to sign a transaction in your wallet which approves Squid’s smart contracts to use your tokens.
When you’re happy with the quote, you’re ready to swap!
Welcome to the Cosmos ecosystem and congratulations on your cross-chain exploration. We hope you enjoyed our Squid Guide to the Cosmos and can’t wait to continue exploring Cosmos and all other networks with you this 2024 💫
Please Note
This blog is provided for educational and informational purposes only. This is not investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation for on-chain participation in any mentioned chains, tokens, or assets. Please do your own research before swapping any on-chain assets.
About Squid
Squid is a secure cross-chain router that enables interoperability between blockchains and apps. Squid enables single-click cross-chain actions such as token swaps, purchases, deposits, and staking. These contract calls are easily integrated via its API, SDK, and front-end components. Developers can use Squid to onboard users from any blockchain and create scalable, seamless user experiences for anyone with a crypto wallet.