TL;DR
We are progressing toward launching our smart contract platform that can execute PVM and EVM contracts on Kusama in October and on Polkadot in December. The PVM preview is live on Kusama and the Revm integration, which enables EVM compatibility, is advancing quickly. Our developer tooling is expanding, we are building out precompiles, and we are putting significant emphasis on testing to ensure a reliable launch. In parallel, we are implementing critical core pieces: gas/fee handling, Ethereum-style block data, and 18‑decimal DOT support.
Background
We recently announced a dual approach:
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Deliver Revm for EVM compatibility to immediately unlock traction as this allows easy onboarding of top-tier Ethereum dApps, third-party providers, and other opportunities in the BD pipeline.
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Advance PVM as the longer-term innovation path that brings higher compute (faster execution speed via the PVM JIT) and that unlocks new use cases.
This gives developers flexibility as they can choose the right backend from the start: either deploy unmodified Solidity contracts (including older Solidity versions) compiled to EVM today or target PVM to benefit from lower execution costs and more compute.
Current progress
Since then, Parity engineers across multiple teams have been working toward our year-end milestone.
Revm integration
Revm is being integrated as the EVM backend so that Solidity contracts can run unchanged and developers can keep their familiar tooling. The integration is still in development with some pieces missing (e.g., gas handling aligned with the PVM backend). Our target is initial code completion by early September, followed by a thorough testing phase.
Gas mapping and fee model
We’re implementing a sound mapping from Ethereum gas to Substrate weights so that wallets and dApps behave as expected and are consistent with Polkadot’s transaction payment model. The target for the initial implementation is early September.
Ethereum block storage
We’re introducing Ethereum‑style block storage in pallet‑revive. This enables infrastructure that relies on Ethereum block data and Merkle inclusion proofs to operate as expected. The initial version is implemented and under review and testing. Next we will benchmark the performance impact and continue to optimize.
18‑decimal DOT
For the smart contract platform, DOT will be exposed with 18 (rather than 10) to align with Ethereum tooling conventions and remove a common source of friction. The implementation of this feature has already been completed.
Tooling for developers
Hardhat and Foundry integrations continue, with test nodes that resemble our environment, particularly an Anvil‑compatible local node so that teams can test against our actual implementation rather than a reference chain (across both the EVM and the PVM backends). We will also add features to the Anvil node required for very special testing scenarios, such as forking of a live chain.
Testing
We are investing heavily in testing. On the one hand, we are working on tooling so that anyone can reliably and repeatedly test contracts targeting both the PVM and the EVM backends. On the other hand, we are ensuring that developers and users can trust the platform. This includes:
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Running large test suites from top Ethereum applications across our PVM and EVM backends.
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Performing differential tests against reference Ethereum implementations to catch divergences early.
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Conducting stress tests and benchmarks.
We are aiming for high confidence in correctness, predictable gas behavior and resource usage, and rapid bug detection and resolution prior to the launch.
Impact
With this dual approach we balance immediate traction and innovation. Developers can move quickly by deploying unchanged Solidity contracts on EVM. Polkadot-specific features (via precompiles) will be available on both EVM and PVM. PVM’s advanced compute model will open new opportunities over time. With the shared stack, both backends benefit from improvements to the RPC, tooling, and precompiles.
What’s next
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September: PVM preview part 2 on Kusama (ERC20 support, basic XCM precompile)
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Late October: EVM and PVM backend live on Kusama
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Mid December: EVM and PVM backend live on Polkadot