As Ripple continues its innovative steps, Ripple (XRP) CTO David Schwartz announced the latest development.
Ripple CTO announced at the APEX 2025 conference in Singapore that XRP Ledger (XRPL) plans to launch an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible EVM sidechain.
Accordingly, XRP Ledger plans to launch the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain in the second quarter of 2025.
This sidechain will integrate the low-cost transaction capabilities of XRP Ledger with the smart contract functionality of Ethereum.
EVM compatibility will allow developers to deploy Ethereum-based smart contracts directly to XRPL, introducing new functionality such as liquidity pools, token swaps, and staking.
The Ripple CTO said that the testnet launched earlier this year has seen strong growth and that EVM compatibility will enable XRPL to support Ethereum-based decentralized applications and smart contracts.
“The testnet of the XRPL EVM sidechain was launched earlier this year and the ecosystem has grown rapidly.
“87 new companies previously unaffiliated with XRP have begun building infrastructure, applications, and services on the testnet. Once the mainnet launches, all of these elements will be part of the XRP ecosystem, potentially marking the largest turnout in XRP history.”
According to experts, the full integration of Sidechain into XRPL will be a major milestone for Ripple, positioning the network to compete more directly with other layer-1 blockchains that support EVM, such as Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Avalanche.
*This is not investment advice.