Cosmos (ATOM) is trading steady after spiking by more than 10% a few hours ago when the entire crypto market received a boost as leading coin Bitcoin makes its way higher towards the key $50,000 level. AT the time of writing, ATOM/USD is trading at around $22.22.

Gravity Bridge Will Let Users Transfer ERC-20 Tokens to Cosmos

The spike in ATOM’s price was also powered by an interesting announcement from the Interchain Foundation, the firm behind the development of its blockchain. The firm launched the Gravity Bridge which will allow users to conveniently transfer ERC-20 tokens into the Cosmos ecosystem. Developed by decentralized internet service provider Althea, the solution will initially operate as a standalone chain for a short time after its launch until it migrates completely into Cosmos Hub in early 2022.

According to Althea’s CEO Deborah Simpier, “In this interoperable ecosystem, Gravity Bridge’s place is a foundational piece of infrastructure, available to all Cosmos chains openly, purpose-built to update and iterate quickly, and facilitate the bridge needs of the chains that interact with it. Open markets and frictionless trading unlock liquidity for all. This is the future that uplifts all in the Cosmos network and supports the ATOM value and ecosystem for the Internet of Blockchains.”

IBC Connects 25 Blockchains, 26th Coming Up Soon

In a recent blog post shared by the ‘Internet of Blockchains’ as Cosmos is known, the team of developers offer a recap of all the highlights from this year, and it looks like the network has made remarkable progress and has a lot more in store in the coming year. Its Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol for interoperability between different blockchain networks has gone on to connect 2 chains with over $60 billion in market cap so far, handling nearly 6 million IBC transfers since early April. One of the biggest developments in its ecosystem was Terra coming in via the IBC, bringing LUNA and stablecoin UST into the Cosmos ecosystem.

The future certainly looks bright for Cosmos, especially as interoperability will become a bigger focus area going into 2022. With DeFi and crypto technology going mainstream and expanding its footprint, users will look for ways to seamlessly operate across multiple ecosystems, and that is truly where the IBC’s strength lies. With this in mind, it’s worth keeping an eye on ATOM well into the next year as Cosmos connects more blockchains with the IBC. The next upcoming will be Kava, which will become the 26th blockchain joining the ecosystem.

ATOM/USD Technical Analysis

On the 4-hour chart of ATOM/USD, moving averages and the MACD are exhibiting a bearish bias. However, the momentum indicator points to some interest among buyers in the marker as well.

Cosmos’s price is trading above the immediate support at $21.76, although it has some way to go until the pivot point at $30.50. We need to see if more buyers jump into the market to see this level being tested.