• IOG will launch the software toolkit in late January 2023.
• The toolkit will allow developers to build custom sidechains for Cardano.
• IOG expects this sidechain development will boost mass adoption.

Input Output Global (IOG), the team behind Cardano’s ecosystem, plans to release a software toolkit in late January 2023 to allow developers to implement independently developed sidechains on Cardano to enhance its ecosystem. IOHK (now IOG), a blockchain development firm created by Charles Hoskinson, announced the initial technical documentation for the sidechain toolkit on January 12.

A sidechain is a separate blockchain network that operates in tandem with the main network. The mainnet, which typically promotes decentralization and security, is frequently made more scalable with the addition of sidechains.

As a “proof of concept,” IOG developers have already utilized the toolkit to build a public testnet for a sidechain compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Furthermore, Once the audit is complete, anybody can install DApps, create smart contracts, and move tokens across testnets. In addition to other use-case-specific capabilities, the toolkit will allow sidechain developers to pick their preferred consensus process.

IOG “hopes to see a family of Cardano sidechains and partner chains emerging” and believes that the development of sidechains “will pave the way for mass adoption” in the Cardano ecosystem. Hoskinson indicated in a recent AMA session that he would like to see Solana as one of Cardano’s “partner chains” since Cardano could benefit from Solana’s network speed while Solana benefited from Cardano’s infrastructure and security.

The roadmap also indicated that, in addition to the sidechain upgrade, parallel accounting styles would be implemented as part of the protocol’s next “Basho phase” to foster more interoperability across the Cardano ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Cardano developers have revealed the first Cardano smart contract built in Eopsin, a new Pythonic programming language. The developers of the project, dubbed ImperatorLang, made the announcement on January 10. The developers have also discussed including the Python Cardano library, PyCardano.

Once development is complete, Eopsin will enable developers to build 100% valid Python programs using the preexisting tool stack for Python (including syntax highlighting, debugging, unit testing, verification, and more). The end purpose of this project is to integrate Python with the Plutus smart contract technology.