Protocols in the Cosmos ecosystem have seen a significant amount of growth in 2022 due to the intensifying focus on blockchain interoperability and compatibility with the Ethereum network. 

One protocol that has seen a buildup in momentum since the middle of March is Kava, a project that is developing a co-chain architecture for the Cosmos and Ethereum network.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of Kava’s native token KAVA has climbed 72.3% after hitting a low of $2.92 on March 13 to establish a daily high of $5.03 on April 8.

Three reasons for the increase in price and momentum for KAVA include the Ethereum Co-Chain beta launch, the launch of a $750 million developer incentive program and a series of partnerships and protocol launches that have expanded the size of the Kava ecosystem.

Ethereum Co-chain beta launch

One of the most anticipated developments to come out of the Kava ecosystem was the successful completion of the alpha phase of the Ethereum Co-chain launch.

Ethereum Co-Chain Alpha was AMAZING!

Beta is LIVE & already a powerhouse.

Mainnet launches May 10th, 2022! #Kava #EVM pic.twitter.com/tnfyAkeLoN

— Kava Network (@kava_platform) April 7, 2022

The Ethereum Co-Chain enables support for Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) smart contracts while the Cosmos Co-Chain enables support for the Tendermint consensus engine and the Inter Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC). A translator module connects the co-chains and allows for seamless interoperability between the networks.

The mainnet launch of the Ethereum Co-Chain is expected to take place on May 10.

Kava launches a $750 million developer incentive program

A second reason for the building strength of KAVA was the March 3 launch of Kava Rise, a $750 million developer incentive program designed to help onboard developers from decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming and nonfungible projects into the Kava community.

Kava Rise is an on-chain incentive mechanism that will distribute 62.5% of all block rewards to developers who are building on Kava’s Ethereum and Cosmos Co-Chains as part of the protocol’s effort to become a builder-owned network. The remaining 37.5% of block rewards will be distributed to stakers.

The incentive program is expected to go live with the Kava 10 upgrade, which will also include the launch of the Cosmos and Ethereum Co-Chains on the Kava mainnet.

Related: 3 reasons why Cosmos (ATOM) price is near a new all-time high

New partnerships and protocol launches

A third factor helping to boost the demand for KAVA has been the addition of new partnerships and protocols for the Kava network.

Some of the newest protocols to launch on the Kava co-chain architecture include the NFT marketplace OpenBiSea, the decentralized finance launchpad DexPad and the DeFi piggy bank WePiggy.

Other recent launches on Kava include the multichain DeFi lending protocol ForTube, the Ruby Protocol that brings the first algorithmic stablecoin to the Kava Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and an Ethereum Co-Chain integration with the Ren protocol.

VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for KAVA on April 1, prior to the recent price rise.

The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historical and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.

As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for KAVA began to pick up on April 1, around 94 hours before the price increased 25% over the next three days.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.