A major milestone just landed quietly, but it could redefine how $XRP fits into the Web3 landscape. The XRP Ledger now has an EVM-compatible sidechain, live on mainnet. But it’s not just smart contracts that make this important, it’s the @axelar integration that makes it powerful. With Axelar as the bridge, XRPL’s new sidechain is instantly connected to 80+ chains across Ethereum, Cosmos, and beyond. So, what does it mean in practice? → XRP becomes a true multichain asset → Devs can build with Solidity, pay gas in native $XRP → Users can bridge $ETH, $USDC, $XRP in one click via @squidrouter → Cross-chain smart contracts are now live through Axelar GMP → Real DeFi composability meets XRPL’s speed, security, and compliance But what’s actually going on and why it’s a big deal? Let's understand what it is all about.🔻 ➤ What Is XRPL EVM? The XRPL EVM sidechain is a standalone, Ethereum-compatible blockchain built using Cosmos SDK + Evmos + CometBFT consensus. It's developed by @RippleXDev, @Peersyst, and contributors from the XRPL community. This sidechain brings full Solidity support, MetaMask compatibility, and Ethereum developer tooling, but with XRP as the native gas token. That’s right, no wrapped assets, no workarounds. You can use XRP directly in smart contracts from Day one. Blocks settle in ~3.5 seconds, gas fees are below $0.01, and all of this is backed by a permissioned validator set governed on-chain, already running over 25 nodes. ➤ Where Axelar Comes In @axelar is the core interoperability layer connecting this new EVM chain to the rest of Web3. Built on Cosmos and secured by decentralized validators, Axelar enables... ➣ Seamless XRP bridging (1:1 from mainnet to sidechain) ➣ Access to assets like $ETH and $USDC from other chains ➣ Integration with Cosmos, Ethereum, Avalanche, Polygon, Base, and more ➣ A user-friendly frontend through Squid, enabling one-click swaps across chains ➣ Cross-chain General Message Passing, so smart contracts on XRPL EVM can talk to contracts on other chains In short, Axelar doesn’t just move tokens, it moves logic and state between chains, a key unlock for the multichain future. ➤ Why this is Important This isn’t just about enabling smart contracts, this is XRPL evolving into a multichain platform, without losing the qualities that made it valuable in the first place, speed, reliability, and regulatory appeal. - For Developers: You now have access to Ethereum tooling, can write in Solidity, and tap into XRP’s liquidity and the broader Cosmos/Ethereum ecosystem. You can build apps that run logic on XRPL, trigger smart contracts on Ethereum, and settle in XRP, all using Axelar’s GMP. - For Users: Squid and Axelar allow you to bridge $XRP, $ETH, and $USDC today, trustlessly, without hopping through multiple bridges, that’s real UX progress. - For Institutions: The infrastructure is finally here to bring XRP into programmable finance, from stablecoin settlements to tokenized assets to cross-chain FX. ➤ What’s Next? XRPL is no longer siloed, with this EVM sidechain and Axelar integration, the stack is ready for: → Cross-chain lending, borrowing, derivatives → Stablecoin flow between XRPL and Ethereum → XRP-backed DeFi → Institutional DeFi with programmable compliance → Cross-chain identity, data feeds, and payments Axelar already enables all this, and more integrations are coming (Wormhole, Cosmos DeFi, Solana, etc.). As @JoelKatz (Ripple CTO) put it, this gives developers a flexible, powerful environment, while keeping XRPL’s trusted foundation intact. XRPL now supports smart contracts, but it’s Axelar that makes it multichain-ready. Together, they’re not just adding new features, they’re creating a new design space for XRP in Web3. One where XRP flows across chains, contracts communicate across ecosystems, and developers can finally build with XRP at the center of programmable DeFi. The rails are ready, let’s build, gAxelar!