Goal:
This is a public goods project that will give over 20M active monthly Metamask users seamless access to the Cosmos ecosystem. The Cosmos Metamask Snap will also reduce the barriers to entry for collaboration between Cosmos-native and EVM-native projects. With increased accessibility into both the largest DeFi ecosystem and NFT marketplaces, this will open the door for further dApp exposure and uniquely position Cosmos alongside Ethereum as a driving force for general adoption in the blockchain industry.
Context:
Add initial Metamask support for Cosmos using their in-built “snap” architecture. Make it as modular and dynamic as possible to allow for easily adding new chains and utilizing various chains from one snap. Much of this “modularity” has to occur within a separate “dApp” UI due to limited UI/UX functionality within Metamask currently.
Mystic Labs will lead all backend dev efforts including cryptography + SES (Secure Ecma Script), and will outsource for the frontend to keep costs optimized.
The working group which includes representatives from Metamask, DeFund, Agoric, Skip, Binary, Cosmology, Squid, and Osmosis, is already meeting weekly.
Snap:
- Account Signing
- Will wrap CosmJS for the majority of the signing workload and submitting TX’s
- Confirmation UI/UX work
- Much of the initial v1 functionality will revolve around confirmation popups i.e: invalid balance messages, etc
- All confirmations should include addresses even with generic error handling
- Dynamic Chains + Bip44 derivation paths
- Utilize chain registry as much as possible for this but need an option for testnet/non-chain registry chains to suggest new addition. This will all happen through local storage exposed via API by Metamask with user interaction happening at the UI level (for now until this can all happen within the browser extension)
- Will also need to allow for dynamic RPC usage (change RPC’s based on chain). This will happen within local storage as well
UI:
- This needs to be built in mind that this will be shrunk and added into the Metamask snap UI post v1 (v2 and beyond). We will build with this in mind to limit refactoring work later on
- Open source the fronted with Mystic Labs hosting an open source version @ metamask.mysticlabs.xyz
Screens:
- Initial Screen “Connect Cosmos To Metamask” - Adds Snap
- A dashboard-like screen where you can view assets (Cosmos assets)
- Defaults to listing all chains with the Logo of where the asset is located via chain registry. Allows toggle for separating based on the chain.
- No Polling. Refresh the assets button and auto-poll on load
- IBC transfer section on the bottom right
- General Send section on the top right (filterable by chain)
- On send display an address book (address book in local storage)
- Defaults to listing all chains with the Logo of where the asset is located via chain registry. Allows toggle for separating based on the chain.
- Consult the UI team but either the TX history section on the bottom or a separate TX page
- Use GridJS
- Self-index with MongoDB or will use index protocol/product
- Settings page - This is where users will manage chains, and add new chains and RPCs to the Metamask local storage
- To follow standard wallet designs each chain added and each change will follow a prompt/confirmation user flow.
- Have a preselector for all chains within Chain Registry to add them easily
- Chain registry default chains included
Further Development:
- Will support bug fixes and maintenance until v2/further release of Snap functionality, where we will eventually monetize through swaps via Squid and other providers, as well as Staking aggregation for long-term maintenance and additional features (beyond the current scope as this v1 is a general public good)
Internal Milestones:
- Design done
- Frontend complete
- Snap complete
- Backend for FE/App complete
Grant & Uses:
Amount: $70,000 USD worth of AXL tokens
Use:
Squid Integration, Audits & Development, and RPC Costs which we will be using commercial RPC providers for. We also are gathering funding from other chains for RPC and Audit costs as well as these will end up being high, especially with large volume.
Deliverable: A Cosmos-wide snap for Axelar to onboard MetaMask users into the Axelar Ecosystem with Squid swaps integration to facilitate in-wallet swaps. The integration of Squid mixed with the heavy EVM capital base of the 20M monthly active users MetaMask is a huge opportunity to significantly increase the volume of bridged assets from EVM chains into the Cosmos through Axelar increasing Axelars TVL.
Benefits of This Proposal for Axelar Ecosystem:
- A direct connection to the 20M+ monthly active users currently using MetaMask
- Significantly boost the Total Value Locked (TVL) of Axelar’s EVM bridged assets within the Cosmos ecosystem by seamlessly connecting Axelar’s bridging capabilities to the crypto industry’s most financially empowered user base
- Enhance the security of the Axelar chain by extending the opportunity for staking Axelar tokens to the crypto industry’s most capitalized user base.
- Increase Squid Router swaps volume due to in-wallet swaps
- Further strengthen the link between Squid, Axelar, Cosmos, and Ethereum
For more information on Mystic Labs, head on over to https://www.mysticlabs.xyz/.
Feel free to tag me below in the comments or tag @Mystic_Labs_ on Twitter for more insight into what Mystic Labs does and how we are bringing value to the Axelar & Cosmos Ecosystems.
