Ripple Will Add Smart Contracts to XRP Ledger
04 Sep, 2024 ● Coin news
Ripple, the cross-border payments company behind the popular XRP cryptocurrency, revealed plans to introduce smart contracts to the XRP Ledger (XRPL) developer ecosystem.
Ripple stated that this development will enable various use cases for users, builders, and entrepreneurs, with the goal of attracting developers to leverage XRPL’s enhanced capabilities.
According to Ripple, the smart contracts feature will become available “in the coming months” on the XRPL Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain.
Additionally, Ripple mentioned that smart contracts will eventually be accessible on the XRPL mainnet.
However, the company is still in the research phase and did not specify a timeline for full deployment.
Smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements stored on the blockchain, progress automatically when certain conditions are met. These programs facilitate transactions and agreements without intermediaries.
Smart contracts have numerous applications, including decentralized finance (DeFi) and supply chain management.
They are currently being used to build decentralized applications (DApps) on well-known blockchain platforms such as Ethereum, Avalanche, and Solana.
Ripple expressed its enthusiasm to collaborate with DeFi developers and invited the community to contribute to design specifics.
The organization encouraged programmers proficient in EVM languages to explore opportunities on its sidechain.
Ripple explained that the sidechain was developed to support Ethereum-based smart contracts, providing a familiar environment for deploying DApps and utilizing Solidity, the programming language for Ethereum smart contracts.
The company noted that smart contracts will be integrated into the XRPL ecosystem through a sidechain developed in partnership with blockchain firm Peersyst.
Ripple believes this initiative will attract more developers to the blockchain. They emphasized:
“This sidechain will bring Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility to the XRP community, allowing developers to employ familiar tools and programming languages, thereby broadening the XRP Ledger’s appeal to a global developer community.”
Ripple also highlighted that the push to increase XRPL’s programmability will gain further momentum in 2025, as the organization advances its plans to add smart contracts to the mainnet.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ripple-xrp-ledger-smart-contracts-evm-sidechain
https://ripple.com/insights/expanding-programmability-on-the-xrp-ledger/
