At the Cosmoverse 2023, Matt Bell, co-founder of Nomic, shared exciting updates about the project’s mission to bridge the gap between Bitcoin and the Cosmos ecosystem. According to him, at the heart of Nomic’s vision is the belief in the potential of Bitcoin and the Cosmos network to coexist and create a powerful synergy.
Nomic is a decentralized, non-custodial Bitcoin bridge that allows Bitcoin to be used on the Cosmos blockchain. It enables Bitcoin to be tokenized as nBTC, which represents 1:1 ownership of Bitcoin.
Nomic’s Bitcoin reserve uses Taproot and Schnorr signatures, as well as innovative security features, to make nBTC the safest Bitcoin bridge asset. The mechanism has been carefully designed to be secure in ways where other bridges fall short.
Cosmos and Bitcoin
Matt said that the original Cosmos whitepaper, dating back to 2016, outlined the ambition of establishing an “internet of blockchains,” including bridges for Bitcoin and Ethereum. With the realization of the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, most aspects of the original Cosmos vision have come to fruition. However, Bitcoin’s full integration into this interchain ecosystem has remained elusive.
He added that despite Bitcoin’s status as the most recognized cryptocurrency globally, a significant portion of its $500 billion market capitalization remains dormant in wallets. Nomic aims to change this by enabling anyone to seamlessly and permissionlessly convert their Bitcoin into an asset native to the Cosmos network, known as nBTC. Notably, nBTC retains all the properties of Bitcoin, ensuring that users continue to hold real Bitcoin.
Features of Nomic
The co-founder further explained that Nomic places an unwavering focus on security. One of its standout features is its status as a fully verified bridge, following the model of IBC.
Unlike many other bridge designs, Nomic avoids trusting its validator set to report on the state of the foreign chain. Instead, it actively verifies Bitcoin through a client that verifies Bitcoin headers, proof of work, and transaction data via Merkel proofs. This approach enhances the bridge’s solidity.
To further enhance security, Nomic incorporates an emergency dispersal mechanism. In the unlikely event that the validators cease operations, users need not worry about their Bitcoin becoming inaccessible.
Nomic ensures that all nBTC holdings automatically revert to their Bitcoin wallet on the Bitcoin blockchain, without requiring user intervention. This mechanism not only bolsters security but also ensures user trust.
Other standout features mentioned by the CEO are circuit breakers, also known as rate limiting, which have the potential to prevent incidents similar to those witnessed in DeFi and other bridge protocols.
He noted that Nomic places a strong emphasis on performance and ease of use. Built on Orga, a custom stack developed in Rust, Nomic boasts high performance and code reduction, making it more efficient and less prone to bugs. The use of Rust’s procedural macros streamlines the development process, reducing the required codebase.
