Ripple has announced the official name for its EVM sidechain, which will use Axelar as the bridge protocol. CEO Brad Garlinghouse also announced the ticker for Ripple’s new stablecoin.
The technology company Ripple has announced the official name for its sidechain: XRPL EVM sidechain. EVM stands for Ethereum Virtual Machine. Apps developed on the Ethereum platform can be easily cloned into an EVM-compatible sidechain.
For example, DeFi applications such as Aave or Uniswap can also run on the XRPL EVM sidechain. The purpose of the new sidechain is to accelerate app development related to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), home to Ripple’s XRP token.
The problem with XRPL is its weak support for decentralized apps and smart contracts. The XRP Ledger is optimized for fast and cheap transactions. So far, no thriving ecosystem for decentralized apps has emerged on it. Ripple wants to change this with the EVM-compatible sidechain. If the XRPL EVM sidechain becomes popular, the demand for the XRP token will increase.
The native token of the XRPL EVM sidechain is eXRP. A token bridge is used to transfer XRP tokens to the sidechain where they become so-called wrapped tokens. The bridge protocol used is Axelar Bridge. This is how Ripple describes the protocol:
Axelar’s experience in cross-chain bridge technology is recognized throughout the industry, having managed integrations ranging from Uniswap to Microsoft. Partnering with Axelar leverages their proven expertise and related sidechain benefits while providing a secure and efficient bridge for users. An impressive 75 validators comprise Axelar’s network, creating a high threshold for potential attackers. Additionally, Axelar employs key-rotation policies, requiring validators to periodically rotate the keys used to sign transactions, thereby mitigating the risk of attack.
With the token bridge, other tokens from the XRP Ledger can also be transferred to the sidechain. Axelar Bridge is also connected to as many as 55 blockchains, opening up new opportunities for XRP Ledger developers.
Today, we also received the official ticker for Ripple’s new stablecoin. Ripple announced the launch of its stablecoin at the beginning of April but did not give a ticker for it. The company’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, announced the ticker today at the XRP Ledger Apex event in Amsterdam.
‘The name of the @Ripple stablecoin, the $RLUSD, I like to call it Real USD… Ripple USD’ – Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) at #XRPLApex 2024 ⚡💙 pic.twitter.com/cRVsgnQLXQ
— XRP Ledger Apex (@xrplapex) June 12, 2024
The ticker of the new stablecoin is RLUSD. “I like to call it Real USD, Ripple USD,” comments Garlinghouse. RLUSD is expected to be released later this year.
Ripple also announced a new development fund for the South Korean and Japanese markets. The fund supports development work on XRP Ledger, such as integration into the corporate world, startups, and community activities.
The new development fund is part of Ripple’s one billion XRP fund, which the company has pledged for the development of the XRP Ledger ecosystem through the XRPL Grants and XRPL Accelerator programs. At the current XRP price, the billion-XRP fund is worth over 497 million dollars.