cosmos

Prop 990: Allowlist Interchain Labs for Contract Deployments

TL;DR - In order to enable Skip:Go functionality on the Hub and support the expansion of IBC Eureka, Interchain Labs (ICL) is requesting to be allowed to upload CosmWasm (CW) contracts to the Hub without seeking governance approval for subsequent uploads. This dramatically improves the Hub feature development cycle and reduces the burden on validators and users as we can upgrade our software without halting the chain.

You can find the Skip:Go contract repo here. The motivations and procedures for using this right are detailed below.

Motivation

Deploying Skip:Go contracts will dramatically improve bridging UX as it enables the following:

  • Use of the Skip:Go API so that user intents can be solved
  • Faster-than-finality transfers through our solver network (under 30 seconds)
  • Usage of the Skip:Go widget for smooth deposits and withdrawals

As we are expanding IBC to Ethereum & beyond and want the Hub to play a significant role as the router to all networks outside of Cosmos, having these contracts on the Hub will be required in order for us to successfully expand IBC in an ATOM-aligned way. Skip:Go is currently processing over 50% of all IBC traffic. It's been integrated into dYdX and it powers all swaps on your Keplr and Leap wallets, among many other integrations.

Previously, Skip has been granted the same access on other chains as well, including Osmosis, Stride, Pryzm. They've also deployed these contracts permissionlessly on Sei, Injective, Neutron and various other chains.

Future Deployments

As we aim to decrease the burden on validators and hope to streamline future development on the Hub, Interchain Labs would like to use this access to be able to deploy new contract-based products and services for the Hub after the community accepts a signaling proposal for each one. This is instead of adding these products and services to the Gaia binary. Ideally we'd be able to deploy bug fixes, quality of life improvements & minor features without a 2-3 week governance process.

This will significantly improve development cycles because:

  • There are no chain upgrades or halts needed for upgrading CW contracts
  • We can deploy fixes and improvements faster without having to go through governance, allowing a more iterative product approach
  • We can keep the Hub lean and safe by keeping non-critical software outside of the Gaia binary

Please note: we will continue to seek governance approval for any new products or major changes we intend to deploy in the form of a Signaling Proposal. This current proposal is not a request to give ICL unfettered control over new feature launches on the Hub. Access can be revoked at any point in time through governance.

The address for allowlist access is cosmos1raa4kyx5ypz75qqk3566c6slx2mw3qzs5ps5du

Additional note: the transaction includes two additional addresses, these are the previously allowlisted addresses in proposal 982 (Ark Protocol) and 944 (DAO DAO). This is a required step due to how parameter changes for CosmWasm work.

Governance votes

The following items summarize the voting options and what it means for this proposal:

YES - You agree that Interchain Labs should be allowed to upload contracts

NO - You disagree that Interchain Labs should be allowed to upload contracts

NO WITH VETO - A 'NoWithVeto' vote indicates a proposal either (1) is deemed to be spam, i.e., irrelevant to Cosmos Hub, (2) disproportionately infringes on minority interests, or (3) violates or encourages violation of the rules of engagement as currently set out by Cosmos Hub governance. If the number of 'NoWithVeto' votes is greater than a third of total votes, the proposal is rejected and the deposits are burned.

ABSTAIN - You wish to contribute to the quorum but you formally decline to vote either for or against the proposal.