Crypto assets within the Cosmos ecosystem have been on a run since the start of 2022, thanks to an intensified focus on brokering cross-chain compatibility with other blockchains. One decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that has benefited from the current expansion plans is Osmosis (OSMO).

Osmosis is the first decentralized exchange (DEX) servicing projects connected through the Interblockchain Communication Protocol (IBC) and data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro show OSMO price surged 123% from a low of $4.05 on Dec. 17 to a new all-time high at $9.24 on Jan. 7.

Three reasons for the price growth seen in OSMO include a surge in trading volume on the DEX, a record high in the total value locked on the protocol and the release of cross-chain bridges that connect the Cosmos (ATOM) ecosystem with other Ethereum (ETH) Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible networks.

One of the biggest factors helping drive the price of OSMO has been the significant increase in trading volume on the exchange. According to data from Token Terminal, trading volume hit a record high of $186.8 million on Jan. 7 and a new all-time high was set on the same day.

The spike in trading volume and token price briefly resulted in Osmosis becoming the third ranked DEX by market capitalization as highlighted in the following tweet from Twitter user Jimmy Yang.

3rd largest DEX token is a @Cosmos DEX $OSMO $ATOM pic.twitter.com/UbBNur2Dsr

Other factors that have helped bolster the price of OSMO as trading volume increased include the fact that more than 81 million OSMO are currently staked on the network, according to data from SmartStake. Furthermore, a large portion of the supply is also being used to provide liquidity in the various liquidity pools offered on