🚀 ETH & XRP Surge as Ripple’s EVM Sidechain Ignites Crypto Rally

Ripple just dropped a grenade in the DeFi playground—its new EVM-compatible sidechain is sending shockwaves through ETH and XRP markets. Traders are piling in like it's a bull run buffet (and let's be honest, they'll FOMO into anything with a blockchain these days).

Ethereum's ecosystem gets a turbocharged bridge while XRP loyalists finally get their smart contract fix. Cue the 'flippening' fanboys sharpening their spreadsheets.

Meanwhile, Wall Street still thinks EVM stands for 'Extremely Volatile Magic.' Some things never change.

ETH and XRP signal common ecosystem goals

For a few years, Ripple tried to use XRPL to copy Ethereum’s apps, and even had a brief NFT season. However, ethereum remained the leading hub for app-building and storing value. 

The big problem for XRPL is that it was incompatible with any other ecosystem. For that reason, Ripple built a new EVM-compatible side chain, essentially tapping some of the liquidity available to Ethereum. After months of testing, the EVM-compatible side chain finally went live. The chain will also use one of the most liquid bridges, Wormhole, to MOVE assets to and from Ethereum. The side chain allows Ripple to retain its unique ledger while also offering a more familiar toolset to developers. 

EVM-compatible protocols manage to draw in more significant liquidity, with the potential to bridge stablecoins and tokens. Additionally, EVM-compatible chains can host versions of top Ethereum apps, boosting real on-chain activity. 

Despite the high profile of XRP, the decentralized ledger often carries under 20K active addresses daily. The platform only carries around $58M in total value locked, most of it locked in the native DEX for the protocol. The compatible chains will also allow the creation of multi-chain smart contracts. 

A shift to EVM-compatible apps may boost the share of DeFi on the XRPL network. Developers can now deploy apps similar to those on Ethereum, while also connected via the Axelar bridge to the already existing XRPL network. XRP users can already bridge ETH and USDC through Axelar’s technology. 

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