Cosmos Labs, a core team in the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem, acquired block explorer Mintscan and established a South Korean unit, Cosmos Labs Korea, in Seoul.

In a recent report, The Block said the deal talks began after co-founders of South Korean crypto company Cosmostation (corporate name Stamper) proposed selling Mintscan in October last year. Cosmos Labs co-CEO Barry Plunkett did not disclose details such as the deal size, funding method or whether ATOM tokens were included.

Mintscan is a block explorer that tracks more than 80 Cosmos-based blockchains.

With the acquisition, Cosmos Labs will run Mintscan, the cross-chain asset transfer tool SkipGo, the chain-connection protocol IBC Eureka and Cosmos Hub development under a single organisation.

Plunkett said the move also creates a direct base in South Korea and the Asia-Pacific region, where Cosmos-related developer and institutional activity is concentrated.

Cosmos Labs will focus on two areas through the deal. One is expanding institutional adoption of the Cosmos stack, including tokenised deposits, real-world assets and capital market infrastructure. The other is developing the Cosmos Hub product roadmap and maintaining and expanding shared ecosystem tools. The ultimate goal is to provide a model that allows access across both public and private blockchains through a single connection, "connect once, access everything", The Block reported.