XRP is on the brink of something big. The
long- awaited XRPL EVM side chain could finally unleash a tidal wave of new apps,
liquidity, and DeFi for XRP. And with dozens of projects lining up, the next chapter
for XRP might be its most exciting yet. That is the most exciting. So, in today’s video,
we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the XRPL EBM side chain, where it came from, how
it works, and what it could mean for XRP. My name is Nick, and this is a video you cannot afford to
miss. Before we go any further, remember nothing in this video is financial advice. This is purely
educational content here to help you stay informed about the XRPL EVM side chain. Also, just so you
know, nobody on the Coin Bureau team holds XRP as part of their personal crypto portfolios.
However, some of us do hold altcoins in the XRP ecosystem as a higher beta play on XRP’s
potential. If you’re curious about which altcoins or XRPLEVM for short matters, it’s worth looking
back at the unique role it has played in crypto. When the OG XRPL launched in 2012, it was built
with a single goal to move money quickly, cheaply, and reliably, especially for crossborder payments.
For over a decade, it’s done that job arguably better than any other chain, becoming the backbone
for remittance and institutional finance globally. But as the rest of the crypto world embraced DeFi,
NFTts, and permissionless smart contracts, XRP found itself increasingly on the sidelines. And
this wasn’t an accident, as the XRPPL’s consensus mechanism was never designed for generalpurpose
programmability. Its creators prioritized stability and high throughput, aware that opening
the door to arbitrary smart contracts could compromise the very qualities that made XRPPL
the leader in its existing niches. For years, this was the source of frustration. Developers
and XRP holders watched as Ethereum, Salana, and newer chains attracted billions in DeFi
activity while XRP remained limited to various forms of payments and tokenization. But the real
shift began when Cosmos started to gain momentum. Unlike traditional smart contract platforms,
Cosmos offered a different model. Appspecific blockchains, each customuilt for a purpose, all
connected by the interblockchain communication protocol or IBC for short. And this opened up
the possibility of linking different networks together without sacrificing their individual
strengths. Persist technology with experience in both Cosmos and XRP recognized the opportunity
to bridge these two worlds together. By late 2023, it had started working closely with Ripple X,
the platform and developer initiative provided by Ripple Labs and XRP’s growing open-source
community, eventually unveiling the XRPL EVM side chain project. The plan was simple. build
a fully Ethereum compatible side chain using the Cosmos SDK and Cosmos’s next generation Comet
BFT consensus connected directly to the XRP ledger with XRP as the native currency. The goal was to
enable DeFi NFTts and all the flexibility of the EVM without slowing down or destabilizing the
XRPPL itself. Once the groundwork was in place, momentum built quickly. A devet was launched,
followed by a public test net, and it wasn’t long before Ethereum developers began migrating
their apps and tooling over. For the first time, XRP holders could see a path to the kind of DAPs
and liquidity that had previously only existed on other blockchains. Thanks to the Cosmos IBC,
XRPL EVM didn’t just become another EVM fork. It became part of the wider multi-chain ecosystem
with all the benefits of cross-chain liquidity and compostability. And now that the mainet has
gone live, the XRPL EVM side chain is making XRP programmable in ways that simply weren’t possible
before. And by the way, guys, if you’re enjoying it different from everything else out there? Well,
in case you forgot, the XRPL EVM side chain was built using the Cosmos SDK and is secured by the
Comet BFT consensus. What this means in practice is fast block times, quick finality, and a modular
structure that supports future upgrades without disruption. In practical terms, you’re looking
at average block times of just 3 to 5 seconds, transaction costs typically well below 1 cent, and
support for over 1,000 transactions per second. That level of speed and efficiency is what makes
the network genuinely suitable for DeFi, Dexes, and DAPs that need to operate at scale. Now,
unlike many new blockchains that use proof of stake, the XRPL EBM side chain will start
off with proof of authority. In simple terms, this means a rotating set of up to 32 trusted
validators are responsible for confirming transactions and blocks. These validators are
chosen through an onchain democratic process with new members being voted in and all proposals and
votes being made public. With so few validators, the network is quite centralized. But on the flip
side, this makes it fast and cheap. The priority here is on stability and reliability with a
clear road map to gradual decentralization as the ecosystem grows. Where the side chain really
stands out though is in its connection to both the XRP ledger and the broader multi-chain world. If
you want to use D5 protocols or DAPs, you simply bridge your XRP from the XRPPPL. Then that XRP
is locked up and an equivalent amount called E XRP is minted on the EVM side chain ready for
use. Thanks to the IBC, the XRPLEVM side chain is natively connected to the entire Cosmos ecosystem.
And thanks to XLR and Wormhole, it can also bridge assets to dozens of other EVM compatible and
nonem chains, making it compatible with just about every other major DeFi ecosystem you can
think of. Developers aren’t left out either. The side chain is fully EVM compatible, and that
means Solidity smart contracts, MetaMask support, and all the usual EVM tools. Existing DAPs can
migrate with minimal changes, and users can access new services using wallets they already know
and trust. Notably, the infrastructure includes familiar Cosmos and EVM features like jailing for
misbehaving validators and, of course, slashing. The end result is a programmable EVM compatible
network built on XRP’s liquidity, secured by its own validator set, and fully interoperable with
Ethereum, Cosmos, and beyond. But as always, the real question comes down to incentives. How
does this new architecture affect XRP itself? And what does it mean for its tokconomics? Let’s
break down what’s actually changing. First up, transaction fees. Every time you trade on a deck,
mint an NFT, or interact with a DeFi protocol on the XRPLEM side chain, you pay fees in E XRP, and
that’s the bridged version of XRP, which is used as gas. But here’s the important distinction.
While on the XRPL mainet, transaction fees are burned, permanently removing a small amount of
XRP from circulation. On the XRPL EVM side chain, those transaction fees are collected by validators
as rewards for securing the network. Perhaps the biggest change for XRP holders is how you can use
your coins. In the past, most XRP just sat idle or got used for payments. But now, thanks to the EVM
side chain, you can put your XRP to work as DeFi collateral, a borrowing stable coins, farming
yields, and aping into meme coins, all without selling your XRP. This approach is what has made
ETH so powerful on Ethereum. If the XRPL EBM matures, borrowing and leverage could become the
norm, especially among XRP whales. On top of that, we have stable coin integration. RLUSD, Ripple’s
stable coin, is positioned to become the backbone for lending, borrowing, and trading on this side
chain. If adoption takes off, expect much more of RLUSD supply to migrate to the XRPLEVM. And this
could make XRP’s value less about spot trading and more about demand from DeFi users, adding
a whole new use case to XRP. Now, this raises the question, where do you look for opportunities
as this new ecosystem gets off the ground? Well, whenever a new programmable blockchain launches,
there’s a familiar rush, a builder’s race to deploy the core apps that will form the foundation
of this ecosystem. The XRPL EVM side chain is already following this playbook, and the earliest
project to launch could end up shaping the network for years to come. So, what should you be looking
out for? First and foremost, the emergence of a decentralized exchange is practically a given. If
you look back at the history of Avalanche, Polygon or BNB chain, the very first decks to secure
liquidity and trading pairs typically becomes the beating heart of all onchain activity. Expect
to see early versions of unis swap or pancake swap equivalents appear within days or weeks of mainet
launch. The teams that establish these dexes, especially those with strong community
backing and transparent security practices, will likely dominate this space. Closely following
behind will be lending and borrowing protocols. And these platforms make it possible to unlock
capital from EXRP holdings without selling. As soon as borrowing against XRP becomes possible,
you can be sure that whales and active DY users will of course take notice. This is the mechanism
that powered the rise of platforms like Ave on Ethereum and similar protocols on the XRPLEVM will
almost certainly become core infrastructure. But it’s not just about dexes and lending. Stable
coins are poised to play a major role in XRPL EBM’s growth as well. In addition to RLUSD, Axel
and Wormhole integrations will allow USDC, USDT, and other stable coins to flow from dozens of
other blockchains, providing ample liquidity and new opportunities. The projects that make it
easy to swap, bridge, and farm stable coins will find themselves at the center of user activity.
And this is where things get really interesting. As all these new protocols go live, the Ripple
effects won’t be limited to the XRPLE EVM alone. The Cosmos ecosystem in particular stands to
benefit as XRP capital is unlocked and deployed across IBC connected chains. Protocols like
Osmosis, for example, which is of course the main decks on the Cosmos ecosystem, could see a
fresh wave of trading volume and yield farming. A capital rotation within the Cosmos ecosystem
from large caps like Atom down to smaller projects could follow the same pattern we’ve seen during
previous DeFi booms on other networks. Cosmos Defi in particular has often struggled with liquidity
and user adoption. By tapping into XRP’s market cap and giving its holders a reason to engage
with Cosmos native protocols, the side chain could provide the ecosystemwide spark that Cosmos
has been waiting for, making it perhaps the best place to look for upcoming gems. Not financial
advice. Of course, this early period will attract more than just serious builders. Expect a wave
of NFT launches, experimental gaming platforms, and inevitably meme coins, some of which may catch
fire, while many fizzle out just as quickly. The lesson from past cycles is that while early DeFi
and infrastructure projects tend to have staying power, speculative assets are to be approached
with caution and always pay close attention to the teams that are first to deploy dexes, lending
platforms, and core infrastructure as they often end up as the backbone of every major ecosystem.
But before we get carried away, let’s take a step back and look at the big picture. What does
all of this actually mean for XRP and the wider crypto market? One of the most important changes
is how the XRPLEVM side chain could affect supply and demand dynamics for XRP itself. In past
cycles, every big rally in XRP eventually ended the same way. Heavy spot selling from long-term
holders leading to sharp parabolic tops and deep corrections. With the EVM side chain in play, that
pattern could finally change. Instead of selling, XRP holders now have the option to borrow
stable coins against their EXRP, unlocking capital to chase DeFi opportunities while keeping
exposure to the underlying asset. And that means less supply flooding the market during rallies
and potentially more gradual sustained price action. Instead of the dramatic peaks and sharp
reversals we’ve seen in past cycles, XRP could see calmer moves slowly grinding higher or lower
as the market cycle progresses. Additionally, with the XRPL EVM side chain now live, XRP is in
a strong position to take part in what might be crypto’s next big narrative, PayFi. And if you
want the full story, we have a dedicated video for you right over here. But the TLDDR is that
PayFi is all about using blockchain to deliver instant lowcost programmable payments, bringing
together the worlds of traditional finance and DeFi. If PayFi gains traction, stable coins like
RLUSD on XRPLEBM could see significant growth, helping to streamline international settlements
and make everyday payments faster and cheaper. Zooming out, the impact goes well beyond just
XRP. With the XRPLEVM now connected to Ethereum, Cosmos, and dozens of other blockchains,
the side chain finally allows millions of XRP holders to put their assets to work across
various different ecosystems. Yet, the road isn’t without its challenges. Technical growing pains
are almost certain, from unexpected outages to governance debates. There’s also the reality that
some XRP supporters drawn to its payment roots may be skeptical of this shift towards open DeFi and
speculation. But crypto doesn’t stand still and those projects that adapt are often the ones that
survive and thrive over the long term. So, while the launch of the XRPL EVM side chain won’t change
XRP overnight, it will set in motion a wave of experimentation, capital flows, and new protocols
that could substantially reshape XRP’s future and the structure of its cross-chain DeFi as well.
For the first time, XRP isn’t just watching the DeFi revolution from the sidelines. It’s actually
participating in it. And if you’re curious which D5 protocols have the potential to take off
in this bull run, check out our latest video right over here. And if you haven’t subscribed
to the channel yet, you can do that right over here. Thanks so much again for watching. This is
Nick signing off. I’ll see you guys again soon.
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