Nibiru Roadmap (2024)

A brief sneak peek at onging and upcoming improvements to Nibiru.

Table of Contents

• EVM Support
• IBC Middleware
• Interchain Queries and Accounts: ICA, ICQ, and Hooks
• Automatic Liquidation Protocol (ALP)
• NUSD Stablecoin

EVM Support

For developers, the ability to build and deploy applications in a familiar EVM environment while enjoying the benefits of improved scalability, faster time to finality, interblockchain composability (IBC), and modularity with Wasm smart contracts—all with a lower barrier to entry—is a major plus.

EVM support will come to Nibiru Chain in 2024. Nibiru will enable full EVM compatibility by adapting the Ethereum protocol logic from Geth (Go-Ethereum (opens new window)) to make Nibiru's full nodes operate as execution environments for both Wasm and the EVM simultaneously.

IBC Middleware

IBC apps function as standalone modules, each possessing their own specialized logic. These modules interface with the core IBC handlers that maintain the integrity of IBC's foundational properties: transport, authentication, and ordering. Rather than delving into the intricacies of each application, these handlers enable the IBC app modules to oversee those nuances.

Still, there arise situations where common functionalities are sought by multiple applications but aren't fit for integration into core IBC.

This is where IBC middleware comes into play. It provides developers the flexibility to craft extensions as distinct modules that can overlay the base app. The middleware can implement its distinct logic and transfer data to the app (module), which remains unaware of the middleware's actions.

Such a design permits the introduction of tailored functionalities without modifying the core IBC or the base apps of various chains. It paves the way for both pre and post-processing, allowing the app modules to focus on specialization. The modular nature of the IBC middleware encourages code reuse across different IBC applications.

IBC middleware offers a non-intrusive method to enhance IBC app modules, establishing a distinct separation of duties between the core IBC, middleware, and app logic. This setup ensures that both the main app and middleware maintain their independent logic, yet collaborate effectively within a unified packet flow.

IBC Middleware Use Cases

1. Fee middleware: Create economies around IBC infra by including fees for packet processing.
2. Packet-Forwarding Middleware (PMF): Add custom logic on processing of IBC packets.

Related Reading

1. Strangelove-ventures/packet-forward-middle (opens new window)
2. Cosmos/ibc-apps (opens new window)
3. IBC-Go: IBC Middleware (opens new window)

Interchain Queries and Accounts: ICA, ICQ, and Hooks

Interchain Accounts (ICA)

• ICA Destination: This feature allows the creation of accounts that exist across multiple blockchains, called interchain accounts (ICAs).
  • Provides cross-chain account abstraction. Users will be able to hold fungible tokens from different chains like Gaia, Axelar, and Osmosis from one account.
  • Abstractscross-chain asset transfers. ICAs appear as regular accounts on each blockchain.
  • Handles asset locking, unlocking, and proofs.
• ICA Controller: Management of ICAs across chains.
  • Govern an ICA by setting deposit/withdraw limits, allowed transaction types, etc.
  • Can pause, resume, or close an ICA as needed.
  • Enables central management of ICAs across many heterogeneous chains.

IBC Hooks

The IBC hooks module is an IBC middleware that enables ICS-20 token transfers to initiate CosmWasm smart contract calls. This opens up many possibilies for extensibility.

Automatic Liquidation Protocol (ALP)

Build liquidations for Nibi-Perps into the Nibiru binary using NibiruChain/collections (opens new window), removing the need for external liquidators or "keeper" networks.

Nibi-Swap

Docs - Nibi-Swap: Nibiru's Spot DEX. Swap, LP, and earn boosted rewards for longer liquidity locks.

NUSD Stablecoin

See early design iterations for NUSD.