Astar Network’s XVM feature launches on public testnet

• Astar Network’s Cross-Virtual Machine (XVM) feature is now live on the public testnet Shibuya.

• This feature enables multichain use cases within the ecosystem.

• XVM allows a smart contract in one virtual machine to communicate with another.

XVM is now available on public testnet

Astar Network, the smart contract platform for multichain, announced on Monday, January 9th, that it has launched its Cross-Virtual Machine (XVM) functionality on the public testnet Shibuya. 

In a press release shared with Coinjournal, Astar Network said XVM gives projects building on its network seamless interoperability between different smart contract environments such as the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and WebAssembly (WASM). 

XVM is a custom pallet and a set of interfaces that allow a smart contract in one virtual machine to communicate with another as if they are in the same environment. The XVM testnet can make bi-directional calls between EVM and WASM smart contracts. 

This latest cryptocurrency news is the first major product launch as part of Astar Network’s 2023 starmap.

While commenting on the public testnet launch of XVM, Hoon Kim, Chief Technology Officer at Astar Network, said; 

“We’ve been working hard to create the foundation of the future, regardless of outside influences that are happening now. And today, I am proud to introduce one of our most important features to achieve the Astar Vision; the Cross-Virtual Machine (XVM). It will be the start of the next wave of innovation for dApps. Astar will not only have interoperability through XCM (Cross-chain Messaging) with other parachains but also have interoperability between different smart contract environments. “

Developers can experiment with the XVM developer kit

Astar Network explained that with the XVM, smart contracts would work seamlessly regardless of which language they are written with or which smart contract environment they use. 

Furthermore, the feature would allow developers to build their cross-chain projects and experiment with the XVM developer toolkit, something they were never able to do. Developers can also tap into the user bases and assets across multiple smart contract environments rather than being stuck with just one.

The XVM functionality allows developers to create numerous complex applications that have various use cases beyond merely bridging liquidity from EVM to WASM. The launch comes just three weeks after Astar Network was awarded the Product of the Year at the 4th annual Blockchain Award by the Japan Blockchain Association.

Astar Network supports the building of dApps with EVM and WASM smart contracts and offers developers true interoperability, with cross-consensus messaging (XCM) and cross-virtual machine (XVM).