Union Labs’ bridge technology to link USDC stablecoin across rollups

Union Labs and Movement are teaming up to enable USDC stablecoin bridging capabilities for Layer 2 rollups and the broader Cosmos ecosystem.

At the core of this is Union Labs’ advanced bridge. It will be used to move assets across Layer 2 networks — like Optimistic rollups, ZK-rollups, and sidechains — especially those developed using the Movement rollup network. Such chains usually suffer from fragmented liquidity.

The bridge allows the exchange of liquidity across blockchains — without the need for centralized or potentially vulnerable intermediaries that rely on wrapping.

The solution utilizes Cosmos’ cross-chain communication protocol called IBC — leveraging ZK proofs — according to Union Labs. It also makes use of Celestia for consensus.

The bridge solution remains in a development stage and is expected to go live later this year.

Noble — known for its role in issuing native USDC stablecoins on Cosmos — is expected to utilize Union’s mechanism for transfers between IBC-connected chains. This approach aims to provide a secure and efficient ‘1 hop’ route for asset transfers, according to the firm.

“By partnering with Union Labs and Noble, Movement is bringing the first IBC connection to the ecosystem. For the first time, Move apps can leverage Interchain assets natively within their interface, including USDC powered by Noble, which will jumpstart Move protocol adoption,” said Rushi Manche, founder and CEO of Movement Labs.

Union Labs, following its recent $4 million seed funding, will oversee the tracking of consensus and settlement processes, ensuring robust IBC-based interoperability across different rollup chains. It competes with existing interoperability solutions like Picasso, Polymer, Axelar and others.