Written by: Sooper

Compiled by: TechFlow

 

introduce

 

Noble is an application-specific blockchain (Appchain) designed for native asset issuance in the Cosmos ecosystem. This means that Cosmos can mint and destroy assets directly on the Noble Appchain and is no longer forced to rely on token bridges to bring non-native assets into its ecosystem.

Noble Appchain was launched on March 27 and aims to become a "world-class issuance center for interoperable digital assets." On Noble, it is not limited to the issuance of crypto assets, but also allows the tokenization and issuance of real-world assets (RWA).

 

Noble: Cosmos infrastructure for native universal assets and RWA issuance

 

question

 

Data suggests that new listings, especially for non-native assets, attract more users and liquidity to Cosmos. Users must build bridges to handle non-native assets, but bridges are generally only efficient when they are well funded. Large transfers of funds can lead to significant slippage, and users/protocols holding bridged assets are completely dependent on the security of their bridges.

Most non-native assets are not listed on the Cosmos bridge, limiting liquidity potential and impacting Cosmonauts on each Appchain.

 

Noble: Cosmos infrastructure for native universal assets and RWA issuance

 

This is especially true in terms of native stablecoin liquidity, which Cosmos took a huge hit after the Terra $UST debacle. Tokens like $USDC, $wETH, $wBTC, and $DAI are all non-native/bridge assets that account for the majority of Osmosis liquidity and play a role in the pools that generate the majority of fees. But the issuers behind these assets don’t have an easy way to deploy natively on Cosmos.

Noble: Cosmos infrastructure for native universal assets and RWA issuance

 

Noble revolutionizes Cosmos’ reliance on bridged liquidity through its “issuance-specific” blockchain. Protocols and companies can easily deploy their tokens on Noble using a standard framework familiar to all blockchain developers, and tokens issued on Noble can be seamlessly transferred across the IBC ecosystem.

Noble’s infrastructure provides full control to asset issuers, so companies like Circle and Tether can maintain their usual compliance model. This “gateway” built by Noble will greatly improve IBC native liquidity, especially stablecoins.

Noble’s Appchain is a super-easy onramp for any type of issuer, including institutions seeking to issue real-world assets (RWAs). Noble’s role in enterprise adoption of Cosmos seems inevitable.

 

How does it work?

 

Noble is built using the Cosmos SDK, a toolkit for building custom application-specific blockchains (Appchains) that run on the Tendermint consensus engine. Noble’s Appchain is specifically designed for deploying token contracts and issuing digital assets.

Additionally, Noble supports IBC, so it can connect to over 50 other IBC Appchains in Cosmos. The network uses "packet forwarding" middleware (the same as Osmosis' recent v15 upgrade) to allow single-transaction IBC transfers to any Appchain. This greatly improves the user experience of IBC transfers, as users no longer need to transact between multiple Appchains to reach their destination.

Noble: Cosmos infrastructure for native universal assets and RWA issuance

Noble was originally planned to launch with Interchain Security, but the team decided to wait for ICS to be time-tested before adopting it on Noble. Interchain Security is the consensus infrastructure that allows IBC Appchains to “rent” Cosmos Hub validators to secure their chain (rather than using their own validator set). Concerns about ICS have centered around the fact that slashing is not automatic, but rather a vote approved by Hub governance.

In the meantime, Noble will use the Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus mechanism. In order to make PoA the best alternative before ICS, multiple trusted Hub validators have been selected for the PoA validator set. Validators that misbehave will be permanently removed from the Noble validator set. A 5/7 multi-signature organized by the Cosmos community will also be able to push updates to the chain (which can be rejected by a 1/3+ vote of validators).

Noble: Cosmos infrastructure for native universal assets and RWA issuance

Gas fees can be paid with any Cosmos asset, including assets issued on Noble. Since $USDC will be the first token launched, it will become the primary gas token until more assets are deployed on Noble.

New assets are added to the chain via a 5/7 multi-signature vote. Issuers can easily deploy their tokens on Noble using the convenient TokenFactory framework provided by Osmosis. TokenFactory gives all issuers custom control over their assets to their own standards.

Both cryptocurrency assets and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) can be issued on Noble. This makes Noble the first infrastructure ever designed specifically for generalized asset issuance, which may be of interest to institutions like banks. RWAs have many potential benefits to traditional markets, such as lower costs, faster transactions, increased transparency, fractal ownership, making markets more accessible, etc., which are well described in a 2020 article (PDF) from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Noble: Cosmos infrastructure for native universal assets and RWA issuance

 

Partner

 

Through IBC, Noble can connect to dozens of other Cosmos Appchains that support IBC.

Circle is the first issuer to launch a native offering of its $USDC stablecoin on Noble, and coupled with Circle’s interoperability protocol, this could bring a wealth of new stablecoin liquidity to the IBC ecosystem.

The Noble team has confirmed that it is in talks with other asset issuers, including RWA issuers.

The founder of Frax Finance also mentioned talks with Noble, which will provide Cosmonauts with a new decentralized stablecoin option and provide $FRAX holders with access to the IBC ecosystem.

  • The Noble team is comprised of the most respected talents in the Cosmos (Zaki, Jelena, Jack, Stefan).

  • Technology development and outreach is currently directed by Strangelove, an organization of builders behind countless influential IBC innovations.

  • Noble is building an internal technical team to manage the development and maintenance of the chain and will continue to maintain a formal partnership with Strangelove.

 

Token Economic Model

  • $FRNZ Price: N/A

  • Circulating Supply: N/A

  • Total Supply: 500

  • Market value: N/A

The $FRNZ token will be issued by Noble and will be redeemable for a specific physical asset. It is not meant to be Noble’s native token, but is intended to showcase the capabilities of the chain and generate enthusiasm uniquely for Noble.

The total supply is so small that each $FRNZ token is divisible into 1 million “microfrienzies.”

On April 3, 300 $FRNZ tokens, or 300 million microfrienzies, will be airdropped to users on the 10 chains in the March 27 snapshot.

Noble will provide 100 $FRNZ tokens as liquidity on Osmosis, Kujira, Wynd, and Crescent, and retain 100 $FRNZ tokens as a “miscellaneous reserve” for distribution to the broader Cosmos community, replenishing $FRNZ liquidity, etc.

1 $FRNZ token can be redeemed for one Noble physical bracelet, and anyone can burn 50,000 Microfrienzies to get a whitelist of special Noble NFTs available on Stargaze. Bracelet redemptions will be conducted via Swift Protocol on Juno.

 

in conclusion

 

Noble’s Universal Asset Issuance Chain is an important step for the Cosmos ecosystem. Every Cosmonaut on an Appchain can start enjoying more IBC native liquidity, a benefit brought by Noble.

Not only that, but Noble can grow into a key facet of institutional and enterprise adoption of blockchain. The potential is endless, and all of this is built on Cosmos.