According to Cointelegraph, cross-border payments company Ripple has announced plans to integrate smart contracts into the XRP Ledger (XRPL) developer ecosystem. This initiative aims to broaden the use cases for users, builders, and entrepreneurs, attracting developers to leverage XRPL’s enhanced capabilities. The smart contracts feature is expected to go live in the XRPL Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain in the coming months.
Ripple also revealed that smart contracts would eventually be available on the XRPL mainnet. However, the company is still in the research phase and has not provided a specific timeline for this deployment. Smart contracts are self-executing agreements stored on the blockchain that automatically progress when certain conditions are met, eliminating the need for intermediaries. They have various applications, including decentralized finance (DeFi) and supply chains, and are used to develop decentralized applications (DApps) on platforms like Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Solana.
Ripple expressed eagerness to collaborate with DeFi developers and invited community members to contribute to the design specifics. The organization encouraged programmers familiar with EVM languages to explore opportunities on its sidechain, which was created for developers using Ethereum-based smart contracts. This sidechain provides a familiar environment for deploying DApps, allowing the use of Solidity, a programming language for building smart contracts on Ethereum.
The introduction of smart contracts to the XRPL ecosystem will be facilitated through a sidechain developed in collaboration with blockchain firm Peersyst. Ripple believes this development will attract more developers to the blockchain. The company stated that the sidechain would bring EVM compatibility to the XRP community, enabling developers to use familiar tools and programming languages, thereby expanding the XRPL’s appeal to a global developer community. Ripple also mentioned that efforts to increase the programmability of XRPL will accelerate in 2025 as the organization continues to work towards adding smart contracts to the mainnet.
