XRP Ledger plans to launch EVM sidechain in Q2

According to Foresight News, The Block reported that XRP Ledger plans to launch a sidechain supporting Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) in the second quarter of this year to integrate Ethereum smart contract functionality. The plan was announced by David Schwartz, Chief Technology Officer of Ripple, at the Apex 2025 event held in Singapore. The sidechain is jointly developed by Ripple and core developer Peersyst, utilizing the evmOS software stack and combining XRP Ledger's low-cost trading capabilities with Ethereum's smart contract functionality. At present, the sidechain has been launched on the testing network and is expected to be officially launched in the second quarter after further testing and collaboration with validators.