## Introduction Cardano (ADA) users are experiencing increased flexibility and interoperability, thanks to the Milkomeda network's launch of a groundbreaking feature allowing access to Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) smart contracts directly from any Cardano wallet. This update enables developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms on Cardano's network using Solidity, Ethereum's programming language, without learning a new language or installing additional toolkits. Milkomeda, a smart contract-enabled sidechain protocol, connects platforms like Cardano and Algorand to EVM contracts, facilitating staking rewards for all EVM users, including smart contract developers. Sebastien Guillemot, CEO of Milkomeda, states that staking rewards from Cardano products built on the Milkomeda platform are paid automatically every five days. The new feature enhances the utility of Cardano tokens for holders, as applications can be used exclusively with ADA instead of Ether (ETH), Ethereum's native token. This development is a significant step forward in expanding Cardano's usefulness and fostering greater collaboration and interoperability within the blockchain ecosystem. By deploying EVMs on other blockchains, developers can build similar applications and platforms as they would on the Ethereum network. Milkomeda's sidechains function as blockchain bridges, allowing cross-chain interoperability between Cardano and other popular layer 1 blockchain solutions and their dApps. As a result, developers can write smart contracts in familiar languages, such as Solidity, and deploy them across multiple chains without learning Cardano's functional programming languages, Haskell and Plutus, lowering the barrier to entry and expanding Cardano's developer pool. The Milkomeda protocol also introduces wrapped smart contracts, enabling dApps or users to deploy smart contracts from connected virtual machine blockchains to the sidechain, making them available to Cardano users. This innovation allows users to interact with smart contracts built on other chains and written in languages other than Plutus seamlessly. Furthermore, wrapped smart contracts reduce the amount of code needed to run cross-chain dApps, resulting in fewer vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit and faster time-to-market for developers. Milkomeda aims to provide non-EVM ecosystems with the ability to inherit key elements, such as rollups and Solidity support, from EVM-based ecosystems. This groundbreaking technology allows developers to access all of the tooling from the EVM ecosystem, making building, deploying, debugging, and auditing projects work the same as in Ethereum. The ability for developers to port projects from Ethereum will significantly broaden the selection of dApps available on supported L1 blockchains. Security consistency across deployments ensures that multi-chain deployed code has the same security properties, eliminating the need for individual audits per chain. Future innovations in zero-knowledge technology will be implementable as L3+ solutions on top of Milkomeda, empowering startups to build on chains like Cardano, Algorand, and Solana while tapping into the talent and resources of the largest community for smart contracts (Solidity). Key features of Milkomeda include scalability, security, user experience, interoperability, portability, and developer experience. It can scale to hundreds of transactions per second without sacrificing long-term decentralization. The protocol aims to leverage the power of rollups for all chains and collaborates with wallets to ensure a seamless user experience. Developers and end-users can get started with Milkomeda by following comprehensive guides provided for Cardano and Algorand, which offer valuable context on the underlying technology, benefits, and processes that enable the Milkomeda C1 EVM Sidechain and the Milkomeda A1 Rollup to operate. As Milkomeda continues to evolve, it is poised to transform the blockchain industry. ## What is Ethererum Virtual Machine (EVM) The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is a computation engine that acts as a decentralized computer with millions of executable projects. This Turing-complete virtual machine is the foundation of Ethereum's entire operating structure and plays a crucial role in deploying and executing smart contracts. EVM is responsible for providing extra functionalities to the blockchain, ensuring users face limited issues on the distributed ledger. Every Ethereum node runs on the EVM to maintain consensus across the blockchain, facilitating smart contracts, which are pieces of code running on Ethereum. The EVM is completely isolated, meaning that the code inside has no access to the network, file system, or other processes. Ethereum has two types of accounts: Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) and Contract Accounts, both treated equally under the EVM. Account abstraction aims to reduce these to just one account type, enabling both EOAs and Contract Accounts to function similarly. EOAs are controlled by private keys, while contract accounts are stored in smart contracts, also known as smart wallets. Smart contracts are written in a programming language called Solidity, which is then converted into bytecode. The EVM interprets the opcodes and uses them to complete specific tasks, effectively working like a large decentralized computer to execute various tasks on the blockchain. As one of the most significant projects in the world of cryptocurrencies, the EVM has facilitated the growth of decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. Its ability to ensure that code is executed exactly as intended has made it an essential component of the Ethereum ecosystem. With the increasing demand for scaling solutions, projects like Arbitrum and Optimism are vying for the title of the king of Ethereum scaling solutions. As the crypto industry continues to evolve, the EVM remains a vital component in powering Ethereum's smart contract functionality and fostering innovation in the blockchain space.