Ripple‘s EVM Sidechain to Launch in 2025—Yes, Really. Trust Us. 🚀
In a move that shocked approximately no one, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is finally getting its very own Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain, set to roll out in Q2 2025. Because why not? This marks a momentous milestone—if by ‘momentous’ you mean the blockchain equivalent of putting a flag on the Moon with a crayon.
Ripple executives, including the ever-charismatic Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz (who still looks suspiciously like a wise tech wizard from a fantasy novel) and Jaazi Cooper (probably the person who manages to make blockchain sound like a human activity), made the grand announcement during the Apex 2025 conference in Singapore — because where else would you reveal that your blockchain is finally supporting Ethereum compatibility?
XRPL EVM Mainnet to Launch in Q2 2025 — Or So They Say
Although the XRP Ledger has been quietly supporting native smart contracts (like a secret agent with a fancy hat), it hasn’t quite embraced the EVM. Until now. The XRPL EVM sidechain is here to bridge that—because what the world really needed was another bridge, apparently.
The one and only @JoelKatz (a man whose Twitter handle sounds like a DJ name) and Ripple’s @jazzicoop (probably not related to jazz, but who can tell in crypto) announced that the XRPL EVM will go live in Q2 at Apex, featuring some “DeFi apps” like @StrobeFinance, @vertex_protocol, @SecurdLabs, and @squidrouter—because who doesn’t love a good squid in their finance?
— Peersyst Technology (@Peersyst) June 11, 2025
For those not in the know, EVM compatibility means the blockchain’s ability to support smart contracts made for Ethereum, which is basically the universal language of decentralization—if you’re into that sort of thing.
The sidechain is courtesy of Peersyst Technology and involves an eclectic mix of collaborators: Cosmos, Ripple (of course), Common Prefix, Axelar, and… others. It’s basically a blockchain potluck dinner.
“EVM compatibility means integrating Ethereum’s rich development ecosystem with XRPL’s distinct features, like its high transaction speed and efficiency. This isn’t just about Ethereum showing off; it’s about XRPL playing catch-up in the smart contract marathon,” Peersyst Technology coyly remarked.
The EVM sidechain runs on XRP, because of course it does, and connects seamlessly to the main XRPL via the Axelar bridge—because nothing says ‘secure’ like a bridge. It promises lightning-fast transactions (by which they mean fast enough to make you forget about that time it took a week to clear a transaction) at a fraction of the cost.
Following a successful testnet earlier this year—and a few sleepless nights for developers—this new sidechain already recorded over 280,000 transactions daily. That’s like a small country’s worth of activity, just marching along happily.
According to the XRPL EVM explorer (yes, that’s a thing now), 87 new entities have jumped into the ecosystem within two months—most of whom do not seem to have had prior XRP experience, suggesting that Ripple’s trying to turn everyone into blockchain fans whether they like it or not.
“XRPL EVM has become the most effective tool to onboard talent and projects into the XRP ecosystem. When mainnet goes live, it’s the biggest onboarding of humans since the invention of the wheel,” the official post proudly proclaimed, possibly while throwing confetti.
All in all, this EVM upgrade might just help XRP finally get invited to join the cool kids’ club of Ethereum and DeFi. As Ripple continues its quest to dominate the universe (or at least the blockchain universe), this move is a clear sign that they are not planning to be left behind—unless, of course, the universe suddenly collapses into a black hole of crypto despair.
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2025-06-11 12:30