(Kitco News) - RippleX, the core development team behind the XRP Ledger, has revealed that it is in the process of testing its Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain that looks to bring Ethereum smart contracts to the XRP Ledger.
XRP Leger is the blockchain network operated by the cross-border payments firm Ripple. While the network currently supports native smart contracts, it does not support the EVM, which is a computing environment used by Ethereum developers to write applications.
Once the new system is fully tested and released on the mainnet, the new sidechain will allow developers to write in Solidity – the main programming language for Ethereum – and make it interoperable with the XRP Ledger.
Developers will also be able to use XRP Ledger’s native XRP asset within the sidechain environment.
“The release means developers no longer have to choose between XRPL or EMV-compatible blockchains; they can have the best of both worlds,” RippleX stated.
The first phase of the EVM sidechain for XRPL has been released by Peersyst Technology and is now live on the XRPL Devnet. The Devnet is a restricted experimental network used for testing on XRP Ledger, so only those with access can engage with the system.
Phase one also involves the introduction of a bridge between the EVM-compatible chain and the XRP Ledger Devnet. With the bridge, developers are able to test the exchange of Devnet XRP between the EVM sidechain and XRP Ledger to “assess available technologies and deploy their existing Solidity apps on the EVM sidechain and access the XRPL Devnet userbase.”
The second phase of testing is expected to begin in early 2023 and will “feature a permissionless EVM sidechain and bridge with a unique design that connects to the XRPL Devnet to expand participation and test scalability within a controlled environment.”
Once phase two is complete, the testing will move on to the final phase, which will include a permissionless EVM sidechain and bridge available on the XRPL mainnet.
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“Throughout all three phases, the EVM sidechain will feature block and finality times comparable to the XRPL Mainnet and support Ethereum smart contracts and applications like Metamask, Remix and Truffle,” RippleX said.
“By building an EVM sidechain and bridge, we are making XRPL features accessible to more developers that would benefit from XRPL advantages like fast, low-cost transactions at scale.”
Developers interested in testing the new EVM sidechain can access it by connecting XRPL Devnet with a XUMM wallet, connecting Metamask with the EVM sidechain, then transferring XRP from XRPL Devnet to the EVM sidechain.
“Between Ethereum smart contracts, Hooks and Smart Transactors, XRPL developers will have the flexibility to build the next generation of blockchain-driven apps,” RippleX said.
