In an announcement on a RippleX Developers portal on Oct. 17, engineer Mayukha Vadari said that the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain for XRPL was now live on devnet.

The system to bring more Ethereum compatibility to Ripple was initially introduced in September 2021, but it has now finally been launched for wider testing and development.

Vadari said that blockchain technology firm Peersyst had deployed the sidechain so that developers can bring Solidity smart contracts over to Ripple’s ledger.

📢Thrilled to announce the launch of the first #XRPL #Sidechain compatible with #EVM!🔗

This #Devnet version with its #Explorer and #Bridge is the first step to open a world of gigantic possibilities to all developers and businesses that put their trust in @Ripple @RippleXDev 🔐 pic.twitter.com/9BumdUbBp7

— Peersyst Technology (@Peersyst) October 17, 2022

Ripple EVM Roadmap

The first phase of the launch also includes a bridge between EVM chains and the XRP Ledger Devnet so developers can have the access to both options.

According to the announcement, the second phase, which is due in early 2023, 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.”

The third phase is deployment to mainnet, but no timeframe was given yet. The EVM sidechain, which uses XRP as its native currency, will support Ethereum smart contracts and decentralized applications such as the popular browser wallet MetaMask, Remix, and Truffle.

Vadari said that making the XRPL EVM-compatible could “undermine its efficiency, scalability and security” before adding:

“So, instead of forcing developers to choose between chains, Peersyst and Ripple partnered to create an EVM sidechain connected to the main XRPL.”

Ripple wants more than just an Ethereum-compatible sidechain. Back in January, it launched its own NFT protocol and token standard called XLS-20, which allowed developers to mint NFTs directly on XRP Ledger. It was slated to launch last month but has yet to be deployed.

XRP Price Reaction

Ripple’s native XRP token has not shown much of a reaction to the devnet deployment, having gained just 1.5% on the day.

XRP is currently trading at $0.474, having lost 13% over the past week. However, progress with the ongoing SEC battle has boosted XRP prices by 26% over the past month, when most other altcoins have continued to decline.

XRP is currently down 86% from its January 2018 all-time high of $3.40. It is likely to get another boost if the company is victorious against the SEC, which has accused it of carrying out an unregistered securities sale though the verdict is not likely to happen until the first half of 2023.