Scale Ethereum-based DeFi to Polkadot with Acala EVM+, Now Fully EVM-Compatible with Full Access to Substrate

Any Ethereum DApp will be able to deploy to the Acala EVM+ in a fully Ethereum compatible environment with tooling like MetaMask, Truffle, and Waffle

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Acala

6 min readAug 19, 2021

The Acala engineering team has configured the custom-built Acala EVM+ to now provide a development environment analogous to Ethereum and a fully Ethereum-compatible experience for DeFi users (MetaMask), while still getting the full power, speed, and customizability of Polkadot’s modular blockchain framework, Substrate. Upon Acala’s upcoming network launch on Polkadot, any DApp team can deploy their EVM-based smart contracts onto the Acala EVM+ with minimal changes while using the same tooling they utilize in other Ethereum environments (MetaMask, Truffle, Waffle, etc.). The EVM+ upgrade will be live in the coming months.

DeFi teams will now be able to smoothly integrate with Acala, and the entire Polkadot ecosystem, for composability with billions in new TVL, hundreds of thousands of new users, a seamless user experience compared to their current status quo, and development support from the top engineering team in the Polkadot ecosystem.

Just like Ethereum can do things Bitcoin will never be able to do, which subsequently inspired many new innovations, Substrate and Polkadot are categorically different from Ethereum in a way that will empower many new, chain-level innovations outside of the EVM sandbox. We are firm believers in the power of Substrate and built the Acala EVM+ to also optimize for Substrate’s full potential and longevity, rather than simply redeploying Ethereum on Polkadot and inheriting all the same problems Polkadot was built to solve.

Scale your user base and TVL with Acala EVM+

Capture billions in new TVL on Polkadot with minimal code changes

For DeFi teams, the Acala EVM+ now provides a seamless transition onto Polkadot for access to an expected billions in liquidity for Polkadot-native collaterals such as DOT and DOT derivatives (e.g.Liquid DOT LDOT) from Acala, native decentralized stablecoin Acala Dollar (aUSD), and natively issued USDC and USDT. Acala will also be bridging existing liquidity from Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other top ecosystems in the very near future. This allows EVM-compatible DApp platforms to expand their collateral and product offerings to their existing user base, while onboarding hundreds of thousands of new Polkadot-native users.

Provide seamless access to new assets to Ethereum users

DApp teams can now grant their existing EVM-based users access to news assets and markets within the same interface and experience. For example, users will be able to simply switch to the “Acala market”, while still using their MetaMask, just like switching between Ethereum and other networks today. This new Acala market will allow access to all of Acala’s ERC20, Bitcoin, Polkadot-based assets, as well as any other assets bridged to Acala in the future.

Customizable and Composable DeFi hub leveraging Substrate for improved UX

Acala’s EVM+ does not sacrifice the power of Substrate in order to provide developers a fully Ethereum-compatible development environment, composable with all Acala-based DeFi DApps. EVM+ can tap into any of Acala’s core DeFi primitives built into the Acala chain, including aUSD, liquid DOT staking, and the Acala Swap AMM-style DEX. EVM+ also allows you to access DeFi customizations the Acala team made at the chain level, such as ‘Bring your own gas’ (gas fees paid in any token), auto-liquidation without keepers, Oracle quality of service customization to guarantee inclusion in a block, and on-chain automatic scheduling. Virtually any chain-level upgrades developers need for their DApp can be added with Substrate over time, leveraging Acala’s forkless upgrade process.

Deploy on Acala EVM+ to take your DApp multi-chain

Deployment on the Acala EVM+ means your DApp is multi-chain ready in a variety of ways. Any DApp on Acala can leverage interoperability with assets or smart contracts from any other parachain or DApp built in the Polkadot ecosystem. Likewise, any DApp in the Polkadot ecosystem can leverage your smart contracts or assets. This interoperability could involve complex, cross-chain transactions across multiple DApps and parachains, all fully composable. Acala’s bridges to external networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum also allow Acala EVM+ DApps to leverage cross-chain liquidity.

Build alongside Polkadot’s top development team

Acala is the top development team in the Polkadot ecosystem with five Web3 Foundation Grants, and the top external development contributor to the Substrate/Polkadot codebase. Acala CTO Bryan Chen started and leads the first and only Substrate Development Academy.

We have grants and ecosystem funds to support development teams who are building the foundation of decentralized finance. Ready to deploy on Acala, or want to learn more? Get in touch to discuss the integration.

More About Acala

Acala is an all-in-one DeFi network offering an Ethereum-compatible blockchain platform secured by Polkadot, as well as a suite of cross-chain financial applications that let users trade, issue self-serviced loans, become liquidity providers, access staking derivatives, and earn on their digital assets. The network is scalable, interoperable, highly secure, and optimized for DeFi. You can try the Apps on testnet at http://apps.acala.network.

Acala also has the largest community in the Polkadot space with 350k+ community members and 60k active account holders. The Acala team won the first parachain slot auction on Kusama with our experimental network, Karura, garnering over 501k KSM ($100M) in crowdloan contributions from our community.

Today Karura has approximately 1200 daily active users, $55M in TVL, two trading pairs on Karura Swap, and liquid KSM staking (LKSM) launching in the coming days. You can use the Apps now at http://apps.karura.network.

Build with Acala

⭐️ Get in touch with the team if you’re looking to scale your Ethereum DeFi project to Polkadot with Acala.

About Acala

Acala is the EVM-compatible multi-chain DeFi hub of Polkadot. The platform also offers suite of cross-chain financial applications that let users trade, issue self-serviced loans, become liquidity providers, access staking derivatives, and earn high-interest APY on their digital assets. The network is scalable, Ethereum-compatible, and optimized for DeFi.

Acala was founded in Oct 2019, and today has received five Web3 Foundation grants, has backing from Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, Polychain Capital, Arrington XRP, ParaFi, CoinFund, and other top firms, and has a distributed team in New Zealand, China, Europe, South America, and the United States.

About Karura

Karura is the all-in-one DeFi hub of Kusama. Founded by the Acala Foundation, Karura is a scalable, EVM-compatible network optimized for DeFi. The platform offers a suite of financial applications including: a trustless staking derivative (liquid KSM), a multi-collateralized stablecoin backed by cross-chain assets (kUSD), and an AMM DEX — all with micro gas fees that can be paid in any token.