The few months have turned the sentence “NFTs don’t live on the Hub” into ancient history.
Backed by an AADAO grant, Ark Protocol shipped the infra‑blocks that let any collection mint on the Hub, bridge to six peer chains, and trade minutes later.
This post revisits what has already gone live, why it matters for the Atom Economic Zone (AEZ) and previews our next cultural landmark: HUBbits — the first genesis PFP collection minted on the Cosmos Hub itself.
1 • From grant to groundwork – what is live already?
Early Access Pass (EAP) – a “real‑world” test
In February 2025 we ran the Early Access Pass mint to stress‑test Ark’s InterChain Launchpad.5721 EAPs were offered (mostly free) to communities across Cosmos chains.
Liquidity spread: Hub (largest share) → Osmosis, Neutron, Stargaze, Injective, Terra and Juno — clear evidence that cross‑chain routing works in production.
Ark InterChain Passport (AIP) – utility first
Holding an EAP granted a free or discounted mint of the Ark InterChain Passport.
Passports are utility NFTs:
- embedded PFP, on‑chain badges & stamps, future staking multipliers
- act as a perpetual whitelist for partner drops (first up: HUBbits)
New creator‑centric NFT contract (aka “cw721 v19”)
Ark contributed “v19” to the open cw‑721 code‑base:
- creator role – the artist (or DAO) keeps control even if the deployer is different
- dynamic metadata hooks – NFTs are no longer frozen jpegs; they can morph as on‑chain conditions change
The first live adopters and creators are already gamifying their art: holders upgrade their PFPs without migrating contracts.
2 • HUBbits Genesis (May 2025) – culture lands on the Hub
Long ago, the Grand Cosmos Tree took root on the world that would become the Cosmos Hub.From its living bark emerged four Cosmic HUBbitants—Cat, Buffalo, Boar, and Naga—guardians of Wood, Metal, Fire, Earth, and Water. They journeyed outward, sowing “seeds of culture” among the stars. Wherever a seed landed, it birthed a new world—and a new clan of HUBbits whose traits echoed their founders.
These clans live on as the twelve zodiac HUBbits—Rat through Pig—each mirroring a modern Cosmos community:
- fearless Tigers carving new DEX terrain,
- clever Rats optimizing IBC routes,
- steadfast Buffalo securing block space, and so forth.
Centuries later, the cosmic call reverses course. Scattered HUBbit clans now converge on their birthplace for a Genesis mint on the Cosmos Hub. Armed with Ark Passports that will log every chain they visit next, the HUBbits return home – ready to unite the AEZ’s stories beneath the branches of the Grand Cosmos Tree once more.
- Supply: TBD
- Lore: 12 classic zodiac-based Cosmonauts + 4 legendary Cosmic HUBbitants born from the Grand Cosmos Tree — a mythic nexus rooted beneath the Cosmos Hub.
- Mint plan
- Phase 1: Pioneer Passport → 1 free HUBbit
- Phase 2: Genesis Passport → WL mint at a reduced price
- Phase 3: [REDACTED] → WL mint at a reduced price
- Public: Fair launch via Ark’s InterChain Launchpad across all 7 chains; instant ICS‑721 bridging
3 • Creator utilities – pages, contributors & living NFTs
The next contract on our roadmap is the c721‑creator add‑on:
- Pages – creators add/remove content clusters (lore chapters, dev logs, quests)
- Visibility & State – make a page public, private, or temporarily suspend it
- Contributor lists – delegate posting rights to wallets or DAOs
- MVP UI – will be released in Q3 2025 first for Passports on Ark’s site; a read‑only widget will render inside every NFT later this year.
- Onboarding other collections – later we will release this new creator feature to any collection as well.
Result: projects can evolve after mint – creators having full control.
4 • Looking ahead (Q2-Q3 2025)
Q2/2025 – HUBbits Genesis mint & secondary‑market listings
Q3/2025 – Public launch of Passport pages UI
Q3/2025 – Asteroid Protocol integration — inscriptions go InterChain
TBD – Passport perk drops, airdrops, and more!validator quests, liquidity incentives
Why this matters for the Hub & AEZ
- Sticky culture → sticky liquidity. NFT collections on the Hub draws collectors who must hold $ATOM for gas & governance.
- Open standards. ICS‑721 bridge and cw‑721 are open source; any chain can reuse them.
- Creator empowerment. Creators keep agency, communities get interactive lore, and the AEZ benefits from being the Hub for InterChain NFTs.
“HUBbits is our proof‑of‑culture moment: the Hub isn’t just a security provider—it’s where InterChain stories begin.” — Mr T, Ark Protocol
Get involved
- Follow @ArkProtocol & @ATOMAccelerator for updates.
- Builders: join the Ark Discord.
The groundwork is done. The Hub’s first genesis PFP arrives in May.See you among the HUBbitants!
