Thanks to the integration of the Cosmos Hub (aka GAIA:ATOM) chain on THORChain, it has become very easy to swap your own cosmos IBC ecosystem assets for other major L1 tokens as $BTC, $ETH, $AVAX, etc.
Forget about the hassle of looking for new bridges every time, struggling to find all the possible combinations to switch from one chain to another, while trying not to spend a fortune on protocol fees and gas fees.
Before THORChain, in order to sell my rewards coming from the $EVMOS staking, converting them to USDC, to then load the Crypto.com card, it was necessary to perform the following steps:
1) Claim the daily rewards on https://app.evmos.org/mission-control or https://evmos.disperze.network/;
2) Send the $EVMOS obtained on Osmosis (https://app.osmosis.zone/) via the IBC channel;
3) Swap $EVMOS for Axelar Wrapped $USDC;
4) Use the Axelar bridge to send the $axlUSDC from the Osmosis chain to the Avalanche chain in the form of $USDC.e;
5) Send the $USDC.e to my Crypto.com account and then use it to load the Crypto.com debit card.
The other option was to use a CEX for conversions, which is very much against what DeFi stands for...
After the integrations of Cosmos Hub and Avalanche on THORChain:
1) Claim the daily rewards on https://app.evmos.org/mission-control or https://evmos.disperze.network/;
2) Send the $EVMOS obtained on Osmosis (https://app.osmosis.zone/) via the IBC channel;
3) Swap $EVMOS for $ATOM;
4) Swap $ATOM for native $USDC on Avalanche, using THORSwap (https://app.thorswap.finance/swap/GAIA.ATOM_AVAX.USDC);
5) Send the $USDC.e to my Crypto.com account and then use it to load the Crypto.com debit card.
As you will notice right away, the number of steps remains the same, but there are the following important differences:
- We no longer have to use wrapped tokens like $axlUSDC and $USDC.e;
- We no longer have to use any bridges;
- The swap becomes a direct swap on DEX from $ATOM to $USDC, but also $ETH, $BTC, etc.
The feeling of being free from using bridges often too cumbersome and rather expensive (especially if used daily for sending small amounts) is really something! Having experienced this evolution of cross-chain DeFi firsthand over the past 2 years makes it even more enjoyable!
In the near future, thanks to more and more integrations of new chains, it will be easier and easier to swap your favorite crypto in a completely decentralized way, no longer relying on a centralized exchange and no longer using bridges and wrapped versions, greatly reducing the possible factors of risk and the various difficulties of using the DeFi protocols.
All this, thanks to THORChain!
"NEVER ENOUGH OPIUM"
CT: @mifune0x
