Ripple Tests XRP Ledger Sidechain to Test Ethereum Smart Contracts on the Platform

18. Oct 2022 Posted by Akolkar B on News

Ripple is working on ways to allow users to interact with Ethereum-compatible decentralized application on the XRP Ledger in the future. On Monday, October 17, Ripple started testing its XRP Ledger sidechain which will be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

Peersyst Technologies was the first to share the development and they will also be launching a cross-chain bridge between the XRPL Devnet and an EVM sidechain. These two modules will help to test the transfer of XRP between side chain and the main XRP Ledger. This will allow developers of Solidity, Ethereum’s programming language, to bring their decentralized applications to users of the XRPL Devnet.

A devote is basically the replication of the main blockchain wherein developers can test the applications with minimal risks. Developers who are willing to experiment with the new sidechain can connect the self-custodial crypto wallet XUMM to the XRPL Devnet and also connect the Metamask wallet to the EVM sidechain. Later, developers can also test the exchange of XRP from the devote with the sidechain.

Speaking about the development, RippleX developer Mayukha Vadari said: “Many crypto developers today choose to build on Ethereum or EVM-compatible chains because of the popularity of Solidity for programming smart contracts and a robust ecosystem of available developer tools and dApps (decentralized applications). On the other hand, the XRPL appeals to developers because of its speed, low cost, sustainability and other features”.

The Tendermint protocol has custom-built the XRP-based EVM-compatible sidechain and aims at processing 1,000 transactions per second. The entire implementation of this project will happen in three separate phases.

The first of the three-part process has been executed on Monday. In the phase two scheduled for early 2023, the EVM-compatible sidechain will transition to a “permissionless” chain with improved scalability.

RippleX developer Vadari stated that the goal is to achieve block times similar to that of the XRP Ledger. “The end goal is phase three: a permissionless EVM sidechain and bridge available on the XRPL Mainnet,” she added.

This development will certainly give a massive boost to the XRPL blockchain and the entire ecosystem. Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz was the first to propose about the XRPL sidechain last year. “Our goal in 2023 is to have an EVM sidechain connected to the XRPL mainnet. The bridge in the final solution will be decentralized and all components of the solution will be production ready to handle real world scale and use cases,” he added.