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The Internet of Blockchains is a vision for independent blockchains to communicate and exchange data or value. It is not one blockchain. In the Cosmos ecosystem, this idea is often called the interchain, and the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol is designed to carry information and tokens between participating chains.
What does “Internet of Blockchains” mean?
The phrase describes a network of separate blockchains that can interact while continuing to operate their own applications and systems. The original Cosmos whitepaper describes independent blockchains, called zones, communicating through IBC. The Interchain Foundation now describes the broader ecosystem as interconnected blockchain apps and services, calling it “the internet of blockchains” (Interchain Foundation).
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Cosmos is closely associated with this vision, but the phrase is an architectural idea, not the name of a single chain. Connected chains do not thereby become one network with identical governance, applications, or consensus.
How does IBC fit in?
IBC stands for Inter-Blockchain Communication. It is a protocol, not a blockchain: the Cosmos IBC overview describes it as an open-source protocol for authenticating and transporting data between blockchains, including messages and tokens. An independent technical account in the 2023 EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum report describes IBC as a specification for transferring data between state machines, with transport and application layers.
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The whitepaper compares IBC to “a kind of virtual UDP or TCP for blockchains.” The analogy suggests a communication layer, but IBC is not part of the Internet’s networking stack: it is a blockchain protocol for participating systems.
What the vision does—and does not—imply
- Independent chains can coordinate: each can retain its own application and operation while using a protocol to communicate with other participating chains.
- Interoperability is scoped: the sources describe IBC and an expanding ecosystem, not a guarantee that every blockchain is connected or supports IBC.
- Cross-chain activity is not risk-free: communication does not erase the distinct systems involved or guarantee that every transfer will succeed safely.
- There is no single shared governance or security model implied: connecting chains does not make them identical or merge them into one consensus system.
In brief
Think of the Internet of Blockchains as a network-level goal: let distinct blockchains exchange information or value while remaining distinct. In Cosmos, “interchain” is the ecosystem framing and IBC is the communication protocol associated with that goal.
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