David Schwartz, the Chief Technology Officer of Ripple, announced at the Apex 2025 event held in Singapore that the blockchain XRP ledger related to the cross-border payment company Ripple plans to launch an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain in the second quarter of 2025. It aims to integrate Ethereum smart contracts into its ecosystem.
This sidechain was developed by developers from Ripple and Peer Syst using the software stack of Evmos and is currently running on the testnet. It will combine the low-cost transaction capability of the XRP ledger with the smart contract functionality of Ethereum. Further tests are still needed before the mainnet is launched, and a cooperative relationship with the validators should be established.
The sidechain will be connected to the XRP ledger mainnet via Axelar as an exclusive bridge for transferring assets such as wrapped XRP, and wrapped XRP will serve as the native gas token. Although the XRP ledger already supports native smart contracts, the network currently does not support EVM. The Flare network integrated with the XRP ledger also independently uses the EVM compatibility layer to provide smart contract functionality.
The launch of this sidechain is expected to connect the XRP ecosystem with the decentralized applications and smart contract infrastructure of Ethereum, bringing broader use cases to decentralized finance, attracting more developers and users, and enhancing the application of XRP in related fields.
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