Ripple’s core development team, Ripplex, has announced the first major step toward bringing Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility to the XRP Ledger ecosystem. The new XRPL EVM-compatible sidechain, introduced with support from Peersyst Technology, is now live on the XRPL Devnet, giving developers an early environment to evaluate the technology and experiment with existing Ethereum-style applications.
The move is significant because XRPL has long been associated with payments and settlement efficiency rather than broad smart contract functionality. By adding an EVM-compatible path, Ripple’s developer ecosystem is signaling a clearer intention to connect XRPL with the much larger Ethereum development stack, where Solidity-based applications and familiar tooling already dominate blockchain app deployment.
What the first phase includes
According to the announcement, the first phase is designed primarily for testing. Developers can use a bridge to move Devnet XRP between the EVM sidechain and the XRP Ledger. This setup allows them to do two main things: assess the available technologies and deploy existing Solidity applications onto the EVM sidechain while gaining access to the XRPL Devnet user base.
That matters because it lowers the barrier for Ethereum-native teams that may want to experiment in the XRPL environment without rebuilding their applications from scratch. Instead of forcing developers into an entirely new programming model, the sidechain strategy opens the door to reuse of current codebases, testing frameworks, and wallet integrations.
A phased roadmap toward the mainnet
Ripplex developer Mayukha Vadari outlined a three-phase roadmap for the EVM sidechain initiative. The current Devnet deployment marks phase one. The next step, expected in early 2023, is a permissionless EVM sidechain and bridge. The longer-term target is phase three: making that permissionless EVM sidechain and bridge available on the XRPL Mainnet.
Across all three phases, Ripple’s developers say the sidechain is expected to maintain block times and finality comparable to the XRPL Mainnet. The sidechain is also intended to support Ethereum smart contracts and widely used developer tools and applications such as Metamask, Remix, and Truffle. If those goals are met, the project could make XRPL more accessible to Ethereum developers while preserving some of the performance characteristics that XRPL users already value.
Why EVM compatibility matters for XRPL
Over the last few years, EVM compatibility has become one of the most common strategic directions for alternative blockchain networks. Rather than trying to build entirely isolated ecosystems, many projects have chosen to make themselves accessible to Ethereum’s development standards. That approach gives them a better chance of attracting developers, wallets, and decentralized applications that already operate in the broader EVM universe.
For XRPL, this is especially relevant. The ledger has built its identity around speed, payment utility, and settlement-oriented use cases. But the broader crypto market increasingly values programmability and composability. By moving toward EVM support through a sidechain model, XRPL can potentially extend its utility without abandoning its existing base architecture. The approach also suggests that Ripple’s developer community sees interoperability and developer familiarity as key to future growth.
From a practical perspective, supporting Solidity applications could help XRPL tap into a much larger pool of builders. Tools like Metamask and Remix are already standard across EVM ecosystems, and Truffle has long been part of the workflow for smart contract development and testing. If these tools work smoothly in the XRPL sidechain environment, adoption friction could be reduced considerably.
Peersyst’s role in the rollout
The first phase of the sidechain has been introduced by Peersyst Technology, highlighting the collaborative nature of the launch. While Ripple’s core developer team provided the announcement and roadmap, Peersyst appears to be playing an important implementation role in moving the sidechain from concept into a testable environment.
This kind of partnership is common in blockchain infrastructure development, where protocol teams often work with external engineering groups to accelerate deployment and experimentation. In this case, the collaboration reflects a broader effort to expand XRPL’s technical capabilities while maintaining a structured rollout through phased testing.
Market reaction remains muted
Despite the technical significance of the announcement, XRP’s short-term market reaction was limited. Following the news, XRP was down 0.6% over the previous 24 hours and down 10.6% over seven days against the U.S. dollar. However, the token still showed stronger performance over slightly longer periods, with a 6% gain over two weeks and a 33.7% gain over the last month. On a year-to-date basis, XRP remained down 58.1% against the dollar.
Those figures suggest that while the sidechain launch is important from an ecosystem development standpoint, traders were not treating it as an immediate price catalyst. That is not unusual for infrastructure announcements, especially at the testnet stage. Market participants often wait for broader developer traction, successful bridging, and clearer evidence of real application deployment before revaluing a network based on technical upgrades alone.
A notable milestone for XRPL’s developer ambitions
The Devnet launch of the first-phase EVM sidechain marks a notable milestone for XRPL. It shows that Ripple’s developer ecosystem is actively working to connect XRPL with the dominant smart contract standards in the market, rather than remaining confined to its historical niche. While the project is still in an early testing phase, the roadmap points to a larger ambition: bringing a permissionless EVM sidechain and bridge all the way to the XRPL Mainnet.
Whether that effort succeeds will depend on execution, developer interest, and the sidechain’s ability to deliver the promised compatibility and performance. For now, the announcement gives developers a new testing ground and offers the clearest sign yet that XRPL wants a more direct role in the wider smart contract economy.