RippleX, the development division of Ripple Labs, has introduced a significant update to the XRPL EVM sidechain, enabling Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility within the XRP Ledger (XRPL). This advancement aims to enhance interoperability and create new opportunities for decentralized finance (DeFi) and tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) on the XRPL.

Partnering with Axelar, Ripple has integrated EVM capabilities into the XRPL, a development first introduced on the XRPL devnet in October 2022. In a detailed blog post, Ripple highlights this integration as a pivotal step towards bridging XRPL with Ethereum, allowing XRPL to leverage Ethereum's extensive toolset and decentralized applications (DApps), thereby expanding its functionality and utility.

Named the XRPL EVM Sidechain, this platform operates with a bridge facilitated by Axelar, utilizing wrapped XRP (eXRP) as both the native asset and gas token. This bridge ensures seamless asset transfers between XRPL and the EVM sidechain, promoting efficient transaction processing and robust interoperability.

Axelar's decentralized bridge operates with 75 validators, enforcing rigorous security measures including key rotation policies to bolster reliability and prevent potential attacks. By consolidating all XRPL to EVM transfers through Axelar's technology, Ripple aims to simplify user experiences that were previously fragmented across different bridges for various transaction types.

Looking forward, Ripple plans to refine and expand the functionalities of the EVM sidechain over the next 12-15 months based on community feedback and adoption metrics. This ongoing engagement with the developer community aims to continuously enhance the XRPL to better meet user needs.

At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.483.