XRP Ledger devs plan sidechain launch in Q2 for Ethereum compatibility

The XRP Ledger, a blockchain associated with cross-border payments firm Ripple, plans to launch an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain in the second quarter of this year, aiming to integrate Ethereum smart contracts into its ecosystem.

Ripple's Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, announced the sidechain launch timeline at the ongoing Apex 2025 event in Singapore, according to Peersyst, one of the project's core developers.

The sidechain, a parallel-running blockchain, will integrate the XRP Ledger's low-cost transaction capabilities with Ethereum's smart contract functionality. It is being developed by contributors Ripple and Peersyst, leveraging evmOS' software stack.

It is currently live on testnet , serving as a precursor to a mainnet launch expected to follow after further testing and validator partnerships in the second quarter.

While the XRP Ledger already supports native smart contracts, the network does not currently support the EVM, a computing environment commonly used by Ethereum developers to write applications. Flare Network, which integrates with XRPL, also separately provides smart contract functionality using an EVM-compatible layer.

The sidechain is set to connect to the XRPL mainnet via a bridge, utilizing Axelar as the exclusive bridge for transferring assets such as wrapped XRP, which will serve as the native gas token.