Noble Makes Bold Move: Ditching Cosmos for Standalone EVM Layer 1 Blockchain

Another blockchain project cuts the cord. Noble—once a Cosmos ecosystem player—just announced it's going solo, building its own Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible layer 1 from the ground up. No more shared security. No more interchain dependencies. Just a fresh chain aiming to capture developer mindshare in an overcrowded market.
Why the sudden independence streak?
Teams don't abandon ship without reason. The official line touts 'sovereignty' and 'optimized performance'—classic buzzwords for wanting full control over the roadmap and fee structure. Translation: they'd rather keep the gas fees than share them. It's the blockchain equivalent of opening your own shop instead of renting a stall in the food court.
The EVM gamble: betting on the biggest dev pool
By choosing the EVM standard, Noble isn't being revolutionary; it's being pragmatic. Ethereum's execution environment is the industry's lingua franca. Millions of devs already speak Solidity. Billions in liquidity are parked in EVM-compatible DeFi protocols. Building yet another EVM chain is a safe, some might say cynical, bet to attract migration. Why build a new audience when you can poach an existing one?
What this means for the 'app-chain' thesis
Cosmos sold a vision of specialized, interconnected blockchains. Noble's exit is a quiet rebuttal. When the going gets tough, projects seem to prefer the perceived safety of their own, fully-controlled network—even if it means reinventing the consensus and security wheel. It raises the question: is the future modular and interconnected, or are we heading toward a landscape of fragmented, walled-garden L1s?
The finance jab for the road
Let's be real—another EVM L1 launch in 2026 feels less like technological innovation and more like a land grab for the next speculative cycle. The playbook is familiar: launch chain, hype token, attract 'vampire' liquidity, and hope the music doesn't stop before the founders are fully vested. Noble might be building for the future, but its timing sure smells like it's fundraising for the present.
One thing's clear: the chain-splitting continues. Whether this move is a masterstroke of independence or a costly redundancy will depend on one thing—whether developers and their users actually bother to show up.
Noble seeks to implement change in its blockchain system
As for Noble’s latest news, sources involved who did not want to be identified, as the upgrade’s progress was not disclosed to the public, reported that the EVM LAYER 1 is set to start functioning on March 18 this year. At the same time, Noble’s team said they would like to support the Cosmos blockchain for the short term.
Importantly, Noble has cemented its position as the most popular stablecoin appchain, making way for several top real-world issuers in the asset market — Circle, Hashnote, and Ondo Finance — who have been transferring their assets across various Cosmos-based chains for many years.
Initially, this network was launched as a provider of interoperability and a neutral liquidity hub. At this point, it began to gain popularity, and within no time, it was widely accepted. To support this claim, reports from reliable sources indicate that the network has handled more than $22 billion in transaction volume across 50 chains since 2023.
As technology advances, Noble’s team has made public its intentions to introduce real end-user stablecoin applications. With this in mind, reports highlighted that the team aims to establish active collaborations across DeFi, privacy, corporate, and payment use cases, encompassing both foreign exchange and autonomous payment flows.
As for the new EVM Layer 1, sources with knowledge of the situation said it will focus on delivering stablecoin applications.
“The next step in Noble’s growth is to bring the fast and secure environment we’ve developed to the EVM. We aim for sub-second finality for real-world stablecoin applications,” the team said. “Noble will use the advanced Commonware stack along with a reliable Proof of Authority validator set focused on institutions in its upcoming EVM L1.”
Noble aims to solidify its position as a leading stablecoin issuer in the crypto industry
Noble’s Treasury-backed USDN stablecoin, built on a composable yield foundation that generates yields and launched in 2024 through M^0’s technology, is set to play a key role in the development of the new EVM chain.
To successfully introduce the new EVM chain, this key feature will be incorporated into a managed vault on the Noble EVM that uses a PENDLE strategy implemented on HyperEVM to maximize income for depositors.
In a blog post, Noble noted that the new chain will also receive backing from an innovative DeFi protocol that aims to ease FX swaps between US dollar and euro stablecoins.
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