Ripple users will have the ability to interact with Ether-compatible DApps in the future after the release of a test phase of Ripple’s new XRP Ledger sidechain.

Specifically, the release of the sidechain was shared in a Tweet by blockchain development firm Peersyst Technologies on Oct. 17th, noting that the new sidechain has full Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility. 

This means that Ripple users could eventually be able to tap into DApps such á Uniswap (should it port over) and Web3 wallets like MetaMask and XUMM Wallet.

The new sidechain also comes with a cross-chain bridge designed to transition from XRP and other assets between the EVM-supported sidechain and the XRP Ledger Devnet.

According to RippleX software engineer Mayukha Vadari, the introduction “means developers no longer have to choose between XRPL or EVM-compatible blockchains.”

Developers will also have the freedom to tap into XRPL’s fast low-cost transactions and offer Solidity-based smart contracts onto XRPL, he claimed.

The XRP-based EVM-compatible sidechain was custom-built by the Tendermint protocol and aims to process 1000 transactions per second (TPS).

At the moment, Vadari noted that the first phase of the EVM sidechain is available for trial phases on the XRPL Devnet. Phase two will have the EVM-compatible sidechain transition to a “permissionless” chain with improved scalability.

Vadari also claimed that the target is to achieve block times with similarities to that of the XRP Ledger for the second phase, which looks set to roll out in early 2023.