In the Web3 world, smart contracts are the core of ecosystem prosperity.
Recently, the Parity team shared an important update: they plan to launch the smart contract platform on Kusama in October and on the Polkadot mainnet in December. The special feature of this platform is that it can run both PVM (Polkadot Virtual Machine) and EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) simultaneously.
What does this mean? In simple terms, Polkadot will be able to accommodate both Ethereum ecosystem applications (EVM) and promote its own innovations (PVM), forming a 'compatibility + innovation' dual engine.
PVM and EVM: Dual Path Strategy
From Parity's latest updates and the article released by PolkaWorld last week, the current thinking is 'walking on two legs':
1. EVM Compatibility (Achieved through Revm):
This allows applications on Ethereum to be directly migrated to Polkadot. For example, a DeFi protocol on Ethereum can run on Polkadot with almost no code changes. This is very attractive to developers and third-party service providers, as it can immediately attract applications to land.
2. PVM Innovation (Long-Term Direction):
PVM is the natively designed smart contract virtual machine for Polkadot, which is more powerful than EVM, runs faster (improving performance through Just-In-Time compilation), and can accommodate new use cases in the future, such as more complex financial applications and higher frequency on-chain operations.
In other words, EVM is meant for 'immediate use', while PVM is aimed at 'stronger future'. Developers can choose which one they want to use.
Current Progress Overview
Revm Integration (Ethereum Compatible)
Revm is being integrated as the EVM backend for Polkadot. Its benefits are:
Solidity contracts (the most commonly used contract language in Ethereum) can run without modification.
Developers can still use their familiar toolchains, such as Hardhat and Foundry.
It is expected to complete the initial code development in early September, then enter the testing phase.
2. Gas Mapping and Fee Models
The 'Gas' in Ethereum refers to the 'fee calculation method' for each transaction. Polkadot has its own different model.
Parity is working on: mapping Ethereum's Gas to Polkadot's transaction weights. This way, when wallets and dApps run on Polkadot, their performance will be the same as on Ethereum, and users will not need to readapt their experience.
Goal: Complete the initial implementation in early September.
3. Ethereum Block Storage
Many infrastructures (such as indexers and oracles) rely on Ethereum's block data and Merkle proofs. Parity has added Ethereum-style block storage in pallet-revive so that these tools can function properly in the Polkadot environment.
The initial version has been written and is currently being tested. Next, performance will continue to be optimized to ensure that it does not slow down chain efficiency.
4. DOT Decimal Upgrade (18 Decimal Places)
Currently, DOT's precision is 10 decimal places, but Ethereum and most mainstream tools use 18 decimal places. Parity has decided to support 18 decimal places for DOT on the contract platform, allowing seamless integration with the Ethereum tool ecosystem and avoiding issues during developer migration.
This change has been completed.
5. Developer Toolchain (Hardhat + Foundry + Anvil)
Parity is actively refining development tools:
Hardhat and Foundry: These are the most commonly used development tools in the Ethereum ecosystem and can now directly connect to the Polkadot environment.
Anvil Local Node: A local simulation environment where developers can directly simulate the execution of Polkadot on their own computers instead of relying on reference chains. In the future, it may even support 'mainnet fork testing', allowing teams to simulate real mainnet data and scenarios locally.
This will greatly lower the development threshold, allowing more teams to easily test the waters.
6. Test Input (Ensure Reliability)
Parity places great importance on testing to ensure that the products launched are 'easy to use + stable'.
They have made several efforts:
Using a test set of top Ethereum applications to run both on PVM and EVM backends to ensure compatibility.
Conducting differential tests with Ethereum's official implementation to identify and fix issues immediately.
Conducting stress tests and performance benchmarks to ensure that there will be no 'breakdowns' after launch.
The goal is to ensure that both developers and users can be confident: contract execution is correct, fees are predictable, and bugs can be quickly identified and fixed.
What does this mean?
Polkadot's step on the smart contract platform is actually a strategic shift. In the past, when many people mentioned smart contracts, the first reaction was Ethereum and its layer two expansions. But Polkadot's path this time is 'two-pronged': first quickly attract applications and developers through EVM compatibility, and then open new imaginative spaces through PVM.
For developers:
If you are an Ethereum developer, you can almost migrate to Polkadot at zero cost. Common Solidity contracts, toolchains, and testing environments can be used directly. This reduces the psychological cost and technical threshold of switching.
If you want to try new things, PVM offers more efficient execution speeds, lower costs, and richer future functionalities than EVM. In other words, Polkadot is not just 'able to run Ethereum', but provides developers with a more powerful testing ground.
For users:
Faster execution and lower costs mean better experiences. Whether playing games, using DeFi, or experiencing new types of applications, users will feel the difference.
Cross-chain interoperability and DOT's support for 18 decimal places allow users to switch between different ecosystems more smoothly, without obstacles due to 'inconsistent formats'.
For the ecosystem:
In the short term, EVM compatibility will quickly lead to an increase in the number of applications, enhancing the activity and attractiveness of the ecosystem.
In the long term, the unique advantages of PVM may make Polkadot the first public chain capable of forming a 'differentiated narrative' at the contract level: not only can it be compatible with the old world, but it can also define new standards.
Moreover, since EVM and PVM share the underlying stack, future improvements in tools, precompiles, and the RPC layer will benefit both systems simultaneously, making the entire ecosystem more unified and cohesive.
Therefore, this is not just a technical upgrade but a strategic layout for the future. It brings 'smart contracts' back to the center stage, beyond rollups, interoperability, and scalability.
Next Steps Timeline
September: Release of the second preview version of PVM on Kusama (supports ERC20, basic XCM precompiles).
By the end of October: EVM and PVM backends will officially launch on Kusama.
By mid-December: EVM and PVM backends will officially launch on the Polkadot mainnet.
From Kusama to Polkadot, the timeline for the launch of the smart contract platform is becoming clear. In the coming months, developers will be able to run unmodified Solidity contracts on Polkadot while also trying out the high performance and new possibilities brought by PVM.
This is not just an expansion of the tech stack, but a reconstruction of the ecosystem narrative.
In the past, smart contracts were almost synonymous with Ethereum; in the future, Polkadot will use the dual engine of compatibility + innovation to show the world that it can not only accommodate old applications but also lead new paradigms.
With the approach of the September Kusama PVM preview, the October EVM + PVM launch on Kusama, and the December landing on the Polkadot mainnet, developers, users, and the entire ecosystem will usher in a true new era of smart contracts.
Polkadot's question is no longer 'can it run contracts', but 'how to use contracts to create a broader future'. Let's wait and see!
