Injective’s Native EVM Launch

Injective plans to launch support for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) on its Layer 1 blockchain, enhancing the network’s capabilities.

Originally, Injective’s software architecture lacked native support for EVM code. This new development will open doors for Ethereum-compatible decentralized applications (dApps) on its network.

In recent years, several newer blockchains have embraced EVM compatibility to leverage Ethereum’s vast ecosystem of applications, users, and developers.

The Injective team is initiating a private developer network (devnet) for initial testing, with an anticipated mainnet release later this year.

Injective’s native EVM will utilize the latest Geth client software, ensuring compatibility with existing Ethereum tools and standards. This implementation aims to provide a fully embedded execution environment within Injective’s core infrastructure, eliminating the need for external interoperability solutions. The project states, “Unlike rollups or external interoperability solutions, this is a truly native implementation of EVM where the entire system operates solely on Injective’s infrastructure.”

Injective launched its Layer 1 blockchain in 2020 using the Cosmos SDK and upgraded to a “CosmWasm mainnet” in July 2021 to integrate scalable smart contracts. The EVM feature will work alongside Injective’s current CosmWasm smart contract architecture.

The developers claim that the native EVM can achieve a theoretical maximum of 12,500 transactions per second (TPS). However, during mainnet-simulated tests, it supported between 320 and 800 TPS.

Injective’s native EVM will allow EVM developers to utilize the full capabilities of Injective’s “exchange module,” which features an on-chain order book facilitating advanced trading in a shared liquidity environment.

The network faces competition from other high-performance Layer 1 EVM chains, such as Avalanche, Sonic, Sei, and Monad.

In August 2022, Injective raised $40 million in a funding round led by Jump Crypto, with backing from Binance, Pantera Capital, and Mark Cuban.