cryptonews.net
Engineer Mayukha Vadari announced on a RippleX Developers site on October 17 that the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain for XRPL was now operational on devnet.
Initially presented in September 2021, the technology to increase Ripple's interoperability with Ethereum has now been made available for further testing and development. According to Vadari, the sidechain has been installed by blockchain technology company Peersyst so that programmers may port Solidity intelligent contracts to the Ripple ledger.
The Ripple EVM Roadmap
For developers to have access to both choices, the first phase of the rollout also offers a bridge between EVM chains and the XRP Ledger Devnet. To increase participation and evaluate scalability in a controlled environment, the second phase, which is scheduled to begin in early 2023, will include a "permissionless EVM sidechain and bridge with a unique architecture that links to the XRPL Devnet," according to the statement.
Deployment to the mainnet is the third phase. However, no timetable has been provided yet. The popular browser wallets MetaMask, Remix, Truffle, and Ethereum smart contracts will all be supported by the EVM sidechain, which utilizes XRP as its primary currency.
Making the XRPL EVM compatible, according to Vadari, might "undermine its efficiency, scalability, and security," before he continued: Peersyst and Ripple worked together to construct an EVM sidechain linked to the main XRPL, rather than imposing a chain choice on developers.
More than merely an Ethereum-compatible sidechain is what Ripple seeks. In January, it introduced its own NFT protocol and token standard dubbed XLS-20, enabling programmers to create NFTs directly on the XRP Ledger. Although it was supposed to go live last month, nothing has happened.
Price Reaction for XRP
With just a 1.5% daily rise, Ripple's native XRP coin has not responded particularly well to the devnet rollout.
XRP, which had fallen 13% during the previous week, was now trading at $0.474 at the time of writing. However, while most other cryptocurrencies have continued to fall in value over the past month, success in the current SEC struggle has increased the price of XRP by 26%.
Since reaching an all-time high of $3.40 in January 2018, XRP has decreased by 86%. Although the SEC has accused the firm of conducting an unregistered securities sale, if the company prevails in the case, it is expected to provide the economy another boost. However, the decision is not anticipated until the first half of 2023.
Why It's Important
The XRP ecosystem will be able to make use of the work developers more readily have put into creating Ethereum intelligent contracts once an EVM-compatible sidechain is launched on the XRPL.
When Should We Expect the SEC v. Ripple Verdict? Brad Garlinghouse speaks on the accusations.
The CEO of Ripple Labs, Brad Garlinghouse, stated during a DC Fintech Week Tuesday that he anticipates the court to rule on the lawsuit in the first half of 2023. I believe we'll have a solution in the first part of next year. We'll see if that's the first or second quarter," he remarked.
The Court Case
Recall that the SEC filed a formal lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020 over an alleged securities law violation. According to the commission, between 2013 and 2020, the blockchain company and two of its executives generated $1.3 billion by selling unregistered securities to foreign investors through XRP tokens.
Ripple and the whole crypto sector were taken aback by the SEC complaint since there had been no sign that the watchdog was keeping an eye on the business.
The SEC regulations, according to Ripple, were not broken since XRP is not a security. Garlinghouse asserted following the case that his business was chosen explicitly for close examination. The regulator "should not be permitted to cherry-pick what innovation looks like (particularly when their judgment immediately helps China)," the author continued.
Garlinghouse: Ripple is in the driving seat
Garlinghouse thinks his company has a better chance of winning the case than the other side, given that both sides have appeared in court since 2021. But according to the CEO, the business would leave the US if the SEC prevails in the legal battle. Garlinghouse claims that XRP is not liquid in the U.S. and that Ripple has scaled back its operations there.
A motion to obtain internal records, including emails and drafts, about a 2018 lecture by former SEC officer William Hinman was granted by Ripple last month.
Because the commissioner believed that Ether, like Bitcoin, is not a security, Hinman included comments on Ether's legal status in the documents that the Commission wished to keep private.
The Ripple CEO emphasized that The SEC action is an assault on the cryptocurrency business, and the verdict will determine the sector's future, "This lawsuit involves the whole sector. Everyone understands how crucial this is, according to Garlinghouse.”