Blockchain payments company Ripple has revealed plans to introduce smart contracts to the XRP Ledger mainnet, which will improve programmability and allow developers to create custom applications. In an announcement on September 2, Ripple said it is working to introduce smart contracts to the XRP Ledger mainnet in an effort to expand L1 functionality and attract more developers to the ecosystem. Launched in 2012, the XRP Ledger has primarily been used by banks and financial institutions to facilitate cross-border payments.
On the XRPL, smart contracts are expected to increase the flexibility of the platform, allowing developers to creatively use its core components, such as escrow, NFTs, trustlines, payment channels, and decentralized exchange features, to build new decentralized applications. Additionally, the announcement adds that developers can deploy smart contracts without a formal amendment process or approval requirement. However, the XLS standard will be implemented to ensure that smart contracts are secure, efficient, and easy to deploy.
Ripple also expects to deploy the XRPL EVM Sidechain early next year in collaboration with blockchain infrastructure provider Peersyst. The sidechain will allow XRPL developers to use Ethereum Virtual Machine tools and programming languages. The XRPL EVM will use the Axelar cross-chain bridge to enable transactions between the XRPL EVM Sidechain, the XRP Ledger, and over 55 other blockchains via wrapped XRP (eXRP), which will also serve as the gas token for the sidechain.
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