Ripple Labs Prepares to Launch Ethereum-Compatible Sidechain for the XRP Ledger

The announcement was made on the opening day of XRPL Apex 2025 in Singapore, a three-day gathering centered on development within the XRP ecosystem.

Ripple Labs is set to launch an Ethereum-compatible sidechain for the XRP Ledger by the end of Q2, paving the way for seamless integration of diverse crypto projects.

The announcement was made on the opening day of XRPL Apex 2025 in Singapore. The three-day gathering will focus on development within the XRP ecosystem.

The timing overlaps with Ripple’s ongoing legal conflict with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which needs to report the company’s US $50M (AU $76M) settlement to the Appeal Court by June 16.

If no filing is made, the process will stall for at least two more months.

The new chain is designed to support Ethereum-based applications via full EVM compatibility, enabling developers to deploy smart contracts and DeFi tools on infrastructure linked to XRPL.

According to validator Peersyst Technology, the sidechain already involves 87 entities, including DeFi protocols, oracles, wallets, and block explorers. Most have no prior connection to XRP.

It’s being built using the evmOS framework and aims to combine Ethereum’s contract capabilities with XRPL’s lower-cost transaction infrastructure.

While Flare Network already provides an EVM layer for XRPL interaction, Ripple’s approach gives the base ledger its own dedicated EVM execution environment.

This integration will be facilitated by the introduction of a new wrapped XRP token, functioning as the native gas token for the EVM chain.

The token will be used to pay for transaction fees and other operations within the EVM chain, while also enabling the token to move across chains and preserve its role at the center of the ecosystem.