The Rise of the XRPL EVM Sidechain

It’s XRPL's Moment

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has long been a leader in blockchain-based payments — known for its speed, efficiency, and built-in DEX. However, while DeFi has exploded across ecosystems like Ethereum and Solana, XRPL's DeFi Total Value Locked (TVL) remains under 0.05% of its market cap. For comparison, Ethereum sees around 20% of its market cap in DeFi TVL, and Solana around 10%.

This stark contrast reveals a massive untapped opportunity. With XRP gaining regulatory clarity and Ripple establishing strategic partnerships across the U.S. and globally, there is a strong sense of momentum in the community. Many refer to it as the rise of "XRPfi," with growing conviction that XRPL is on the edge of a breakthrough.

Bridging the Gap — A Historical Lens

To understand the significance of the XRPL EVM sidechain, we must reflect on the historical evolution of DeFi:

Programmability — Ethereum's Breakthrough

Ethereum introduced general-purpose programmability through smart contracts, unlocking a world of decentralized applications (dApps). This innovation made it possible to build open financial systems, but the cost of success was steep — network congestion and high gas fees.

Scalability — Polygon and the Rise of L2s

As Ethereum became saturated, solutions like Polygon emerged to address scalability. Layer 2s offloaded transactions from the main chain, drastically reducing fees and increasing throughput, while still leveraging Ethereum’s security. This created an explosion of user activity and TVL across L2s like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon itself.

Interoperability — Cosmos and the Multichain Future

Once multiple chains emerged, another challenge became clear: assets and applications needed to interoperate. Without seamless asset exchange, DeFi couldn't flourish. Cosmos pioneered this vision with IBC, and others like Axelar followed, enabling chains to talk to each other. Interoperability became essential to scaling liquidity across networks.

XRPL EVM: All-in-One

The XRPL EVM sidechain brings these three pillars to XRP:

• Programmability through full EVM compatibility

• Scalability via offloaded smart contract execution

• Interoperability with Axelar, IBC, and other bridges

Every XRP bridged to the sidechain is locked on the XRPL mainnet, creating a synthetic version for use within dApps — unlocking capital while preserving mainnet integrity.

Powering Builders

To enable real innovation, infrastructure must be reliable and world-class. XRPL EVM delivers that:

• Node: Cosmos EVM

• Public RPC: Ripple, Grove

• Indexer: Goldsky

• Explorer: Blockscout

• Oracles: Band Protocol

• Wallets: MetaMask, Keplr, Leap, Cosmostation, Bifrost, and more

These are not startups or prototypes — these are proven systems running in production on major networks.

They Are Coming

Over 90 entities are already involved on XRPL EVM across:

• DeFi: Moai, Elys, XRise, Strobe, Vertex, Securd, Hammy

• RWAs: Purple Markets

• Launchpads: Rddle.fun, Fomo.biz

• Data & Infra: Range, Goldsky, Band Protocol

• DAOs: XAO.DAO, Nexus.dao

• Others: Capsing, ZNS, Walk it, Gas.zip

The supported wallets onboard millions of users monthly, offering XRP accessibility to a broader DeFi audience. And crucially: this growth is organic. In just 60 days of testnet, dozens of new builders — many unfamiliar to the XRP community — have entered the ecosystem.

Reflections on the Path Ahead

What we’ve witnessed is remarkable for several reasons:

This impact is mostly organic. No incentives, no paid marketing — just 60 days of testnet, and builders came anyway.

You’ve seen 90 different logos. Most are new to the XRP community. If they look familiar, it’s because they’re already successful companies outside our ecosystem.

The XRPL EVM is attracting top-tier talent and projects who are now actively building for XRP.

When mainnet launches, these entities won’t just be using XRPL — they will be contributing to its growth, building real infrastructure, and driving demand for XRP.

This is not a one-off. This is the beginning of a wave.

This is what a few months of testnet produced, imagine what a full year of mainnet can unlock.

The numbers from other ecosystems show the path forward:

• Polygon: Contributed $2B–$6B in TVL to Ethereum (up to 10% of total TVL)

• Arbitrum: $3B+ TVL

• Optimism: $1.5B+ TVL

• Neon EVM (Solana): Already at 0.5% of Solana's TVL

If XRPL EVM matches this growth, the potential uplift for the XRPL mainnet could range from $600M to $12B in additional TVL, fundamentally changing the demand curve for XRP.

How to Get Involved

The technology is ready. Partner integrations are underway. Mainnet is coming soon.

Until then, here’s how to get started:

• 🌐 Explore the website

• 💬 Join 46,000+ on Discord

• Follow us on X

This is a pivotal moment in XRP’s journey. The builders are here. The foundation is solid. Let’s build the future of XRPL together.