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The nonprofit organization behind the creation of the Cosmos (ATOM) interblockchain communications (IBC) ecosystem has committed to spending around $40 million in 2023 to develop its core infrastructure and applications, the Interchain Foundation (ICF) announced in a Feb. 20 Medium post 

 The Interchain Stack is utilized by around 50 blockchains, including the Tendermint Core (and now CometBFT), Cosmos SDK, Cosmos Hub and the IBC protocol.

“Throughout the year, we envisage engaging other teams to deliver smaller, tightly defined tasks within each area of work. Such contracts will be to supplement the work of the teams mentioned below or in service of their needs that arise during the year.”

The ICF is also supporting the development of CosmWasm and Ethermint, the technologies the firm says have become the “foundations of smart contract and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible blockchains.”

In addition to core infrastructure, the ICF will fund projects that drive Cosmos’s adoption and use cases. These include programs such as the Interchain Developer Academy, the Cosmos Developer Portal, and the Interchain Builders Program, as well as integration with other blockchain technologies such as Polkadot and Hyper Ledger.

Key areas of work of the ICF’s funding commitment. Source: ICF

Additionally, the ICF says that it plans to reopen its public Small Grants Program in 2023, which was suspended last year due to a “significant backlog of applications.”

It plans to reopen the program in due course and is encouraging teams to reach out to the Builders Program for non-financial mentorship and support. In the meantime, the ICF recommends developers utilize its ATOM delegation program to access contribution rewards.