Crypto.com unveils EVM blockchain functionality and related fund

In the coming months, Crypto.com’s blockchain will let projects built on Ethereum transfer over to its ecosystem via Ethereum Virtual Machine, or EVM, compatibility. The company also unveiled a related fund to bolster interested projects.According to a Friday public statement from the company provided to Cointelegraph, the EVM feature goes live on the Crypto.org blockchain on July 14 of this year. “EVM support will be implemented as a side-chain,” the statement noted. Crypto.com is currently a notable entity in the crypto space, with its CRO asset ranked amid the top 50 crypto assets by market cap on CoinMarketCap as of time of publication. Crypto.com went live with its Crypto.org blockchain mainnet in March 2021. By bringing EVM to Crypto.org Chain, the company hopes to give its blockchain greater versatility within the larger crypto ecosystem. “EVM support will allow for simple porting of apps from other chains, driving exponential ecosystem growth for Crypto.org, a fully decentralized, open-source, public chain with high speed and extremely low fees,” Crypto.com’s CEO and co-founder, Kris Marszalek, said in the public statement. In addition to publicizing the upcoming EVM functionality, a new source of funding for industry startups was also unveiled, the statement detailed. Called the CRO EVM Fund, it will be aimed at early-stage projects developing on the Crypto.org blockchain. The fund looks to give 100 projects significant capital to help with their endeavors, and is headed up by Particle B — a startup accelerator. Startups can receive a maximum of $1 million from the fund. “EVM support makes it super easy to launch,” Particle B’s founder, Gary Or, said in the statement, adding:“Projects can count on us for much more than the initial funding. As a founder and CTO, I have a deep understanding of the ongoing support startups need. We will collaborate closely with our portfolio companies as we connect and build the Crypto.org Chain ecosystem together.”