[Ripple adds smart contracts to the XRP ledger]
Blockchain payment company Ripple has announced plans to introduce smart contracts to the XRP Ledger mainnet to improve the programmability of the platform and allow developers to create custom applications. In an announcement on September 2, Ripple stated that it is working hard to expand the L1 functions of the XRP Ledger mainnet and attract more developers to join the ecosystem. XRP Ledger was launched in 2012 and is primarily used for cross-border payments by banks and financial institutions.
The introduction of smart contracts will increase the flexibility of XRPL, allowing developers to creatively leverage its core features such as escrow, NFTs, trust lines, payment channels and decentralized exchanges to build decentralized applications. Developers can deploy smart contracts without formal revisions or approvals, and the XLS standard will be adopted to ensure smart contract security and efficiency.
Additionally, Ripple plans to deploy the XRPL EVM sidechain in partnership with blockchain infrastructure provider Peersyst early next year. This sidechain will allow XRPL developers to use the tools and language of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). XRPL EVM will use the Axelar cross-chain bridge to enable transactions between the XRPL EVM sidechain, XRP Ledger and more than 55 other blockchains, and use wrapped XRP (eXRP) as the fuel token of the sidechain.
