Ripple Taps Cosmos EVM to Expand the XRP Ledger’s Utility

XRPL EVM marks a strategic leap forward for Ripple, powered by the Cosmos EVM and IBC interoperability.

XRPL EVM marks a strategic leap forward for Ripple, powered by the Cosmos EVM and IBC interoperability.

From Payments to Programmability: A New Chapter for XRPL

Ripple’s XRP Ledger (XRPL) has long been recognized as a purpose-built blockchain for global payments, known for its speed, low fees, and regulatory-friendly design. However, as the Web3 ecosystem has evolved, so has the need for programmability, enabling features such as smart contracts, DeFi applications, and cross-chain asset movement.

To address this, Ripple is launching the XRPL EVM Sidechain: a high-performance, Ethereum-compatible chain built using the Cosmos EVM and connected via IBC Eureka. This upgrade introduces full smart contract functionality to the XRPL, enabling use cases such as lending, staking, and advanced DeFi strategies, without compromising the speed, cost efficiency, and reliability of the XRPL.

By adopting the Cosmos EVM stack, Ripple is positioning the XRPL for long-term relevance in a multichain future. Developers can now build using Solidity and familiar Ethereum tooling while XRP holders gain access to programmable applications, all within the XRPL ecosystem.

This architecture also opens XRPL to the wider Cosmos network, enabling integrations with protocols like Injective, Band Protocol, Elys, Keplr, and Leap. Ripple’s move underscores the strength of the Cosmos EVM as a modular and interoperable framework capable of supporting some of the largest communities in the crypto space.

Why Cosmos?

Ripple selected the Cosmos EVM stack to build the XRPL EVM for several key reasons:

• Customizability: Tailor performance and consensus to meet XRPL’s speed and scalability needs.
• IBC Interoperability: Seamlessly connect to 120+ sovereign blockchains in the Cosmos ecosystem.
• Ethereum Compatibility: Support Solidity smart contracts, MetaMask, and Ethereum tooling.
• Modular Architecture: Optimize for institutional-grade throughput without overhauling XRPL’s core layer.

According to Luke Judges, Director of Partner Success at RippleX, the Cosmos EVM and stack provides core functionality to enable programmability and unlock DeFi to millions of XRP users that have historically been lacking for Ripple and XRPL.

XRPL EVM: Unlocking New Utility for XRP

By adding smart contract functionality through Cosmos’ EVM stack, Ripple is turning XRP into a programmable asset capable of supporting:

• Permissionless lending: XRP as collateral in DeFi markets
• Gas fee utility: Native XRP as the gas token for XRPL EVM
• Economic security: Staking mechanisms secured by XRP
• Composable DeFi strategies: Yield farming, liquidity provision, cross-chain integrations

Crucially, the XRPL EVM operates as a sidechain, ensuring the XRPL’s base layer remains optimized for payments, while the EVM sidechain assumes the computational load of programmable dApps.

Successful Testnet Provides Key Momentum for Mainnet

Since its public testnet launch in March, XRPL EVM has seen rapid adoption leading up to its mainnet launch earlier this summer. The project brought together a diverse group of builders and users from across the XRP ecosystem and beyond, generating:

• 10M+ transactions
• 300K+ peak daily activity
• 75+ testnet dapps spanning bridges, DeFi, wallets, and oracles
• 87 new developers from outside the XRPL ecosystem

Mainnet Launch

On June 30, 2025, @Ripple and their developer partner @Peersyst announced the launch of the XRPL EVM Sidechain Mainnet at the Cosmos Sovereign EVM Day event at @EthCC in Cannes, France.

The chain has generated significant inflows and developer activity since its debut.

addition, the XRPL EVM chain has achieved the following:

• 160+ tokens launched
• 17,000+ unique wallet addresses
• A direct bridge to the XRP Ledger for access to 6M+ additional wallets
• More than 25 independent companies running validator nodes
• Access to 100+ chains via EVM
• Transaction speeds of >1,000 TPS

Between testnet and mainnet, these metrics indicate that Cosmos EVM isn’t only enabling XRP programmability, but also attracting an entirely new wave of developers to the XRP ecosystem.

With the announcement that the five-year legal dispute between Ripple and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US is now over and more regulatory clarity coming into the industry, Ripple and XRP are well-positioned to move forward and continue to build meaningful products and solutions for users everywhere.

And with the added utility and developer flexibility provided by the Cosmos EVM, adoption by both builders and investors in the XRP ecosystem will continue to build momentum and scale as new dApps and partners integrate into the XRPL EVM environment.

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Ripple Taps Cosmos EVM to Expand the XRP Ledger’s Utility was originally published in Cosmos Ecosystem Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.