Cumberland Labs, the incubator arm of the Chicago-based crypto trading firm Cumberland, has released the beta version of a new API utility that may make it easier to link up with blockchain and decentralized finance protocols.
Cumberland Labs informed Cointelegraph that Cumberland, the trading arm of DRW Holdings LCC, used to expend a large amount of effort connecting to numerous protocols individually, one by one.
The company was unable to locate a tool to make these tasks easier, so they developed their own API service, known as expand.network, with the help of developers and engineers from their incubator division. This tool has been in trial since November and is open to the public in its beta version.
An API, short for application programming interface, is employed when one type of programming requires communication with another.
“When we were researching DeFi trading, we were looking for a tool similar to the ccxt library used for centralized exchanges, which would be able to link to any DeFi protocol or blockchain. Surprisingly, there was no such tool available,” Tama Churchouse, the COO of Cumberland Labs, informed Cointelegraph.
The newly unveiled solution aims to provide both read and write access to major public blockchains and DeFi protocols, enabling developers to interact with multiple protocol APIs and software development kits (SDKs).
The Web3 startup aims to address an aging problem in the crypto space: inefficiency in cross-chain communication. However, it is distinct from cross-chain solutions, according to its CEO Demetrios Skalkotos, who states that, although “they may appear to be similar on the surface”, they are meant to serve different purposes.
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He elucidated that cross-chain solutions mainly enable the transmission of tokens and messages between multiple chains, whereas expand.network furnishes a connection to chains and protocols that provides a more thorough and adaptable answer for traversing the DeFi environment.
The low-code tool will be compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-based chains such as Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Cronos, Arbitrum and Optimism, as well as non-EVM-based chains like Solana, Tron, Near and Algorand. In the future, support will be extended to Aptos, Sui, Lido, LayerZero and StarkNet.
Cumberland Labs, who provided funding, resources, and consulting, conceived and constructed the platform. Provided that market conditions are favorable, the startup may look for investment later this year.
Skalkotos declared, “In terms of obtaining financing, our approach is to focus on crypto seed and Series A technology infrastructure financiers, as well as potential strategic investors.”
As the cryptocurrency sector progresses, more funding is being devoted to developer-focused and interconnectivity solutions. In April, the cross-chain messaging protocol developer LayerZero Labs acquired $120 million to broaden its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. It had previously acquired $135 million in March 2022.
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