Ripple EVM sidechain goes live for developers, XRP looking at $0.60

Ripple is doing pretty well for itself given the state of the crypto market. Optimism surrounding its ongoing SEC lawsuit, the recent increase in XRP’s price, and the ongoing development are contributing factors.

Ripple brings Ethereum smart contracts to mainnet

Ripple’s EVM-compatible sidechain just went live on its devnet. This move has been made to enable the deployment of Ethereum-based smart contracts on its mainnet. The sidechain on the devnet will allow developers to test their protocols before they go live on the mainnet. 

The addition of an EVM-compatible chain will allow for the XRP Ledger (XRPL) blockchain, as well as Ripple as a whole, to grow further and attract more users. The sidechain’s activation was just the first of a three-phase process that will bring smart contracts to the network. 

Following the devnet launch, the sidechain is set to become permissionless in early 2023, ideally opening it to any and every person. By the second quarter of 2023, the EVM compatibility will become seamless with the XRPL.

There is still some time before EVM compatibility becomes a reality, but XRP’s price is already high.

XRP, in the meanwhile

After marking a 63% rally over the course of three weeks from mid-September, XRP breached a 17-month-long downtrend. Sustaining above it, the altcoin can be seen trading at $0.478 with the support of the 200-day (green) Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $0.445.

In addition, XRP has the support of the 50-day (red) and 100-day SMAs (blue), which are close to its critical support line of $0.386. If XRP’s price can survive slight consolidation and maintain its bullishness, it is looking at testing the $0.600 resistance. If not, the price will find enough support before hitting $0.386.

Put simply, XRP is still in a seemingly good condition, and positive external developments will only maintain its sanguine heading.