Kadena EVM (Chainweb-EVM) — What It Is and Where It Stands

5 min readLast updated May 7, 2026By Kadena Wallet team

Chainweb-EVM is Kadena's planned addition of 5 EVM-compatible chains alongside the existing 20 Pact-based chains. The architectural goal is to allow Solidity smart contracts to deploy on Kadena while preserving the security properties of the Chainweb braided-graph design. Chainweb-EVM testnet is operational as of 2026-05-07. Mainnet timing is uncertain following the Kadena Foundation dissolution in October 2025; a community-coordinated mainnet launch could occur but no specific date has been announced.

Self-custody

Open-source · MIT

Independently audited

All 20 Kadena chains

Ledger compatible

What is Chainweb-EVM?

Chainweb-EVM extends Kadena's multi-chain architecture with EVM-compatible parallel chains.

Existing 20 Pact chains continue to operate as they always have, using the Pact smart-contract language.
Additional 5 EVM chains would run alongside, executing Solidity bytecode and supporting standard Ethereum tooling (MetaMask, Hardhat, Foundry).
Cross-chain transfers would work between Pact-side and EVM-side chains.
Total architecture would be 25 chains in production (20 Pact + 5 EVM).

Pact vs Chainweb-EVM at a glance

Aspect	Pact (existing 20 chains)	Chainweb-EVM (5 chains, testnet)
Smart contract language	Pact	Solidity (EVM bytecode)
Wallet ecosystem	Kadena Wallet, eckoWALLET, Koala, Zelcore, Enkrypt	MetaMask, Rabby, Frame (after mainnet)
Mainnet status	Live since January 2020	Not launched
Gas token	KDA	KDA (per design)
Tooling	Pact REPL, Chainweaver	Hardhat, Foundry, Remix

Current status (May 2026)

Testnet: Operational. The Chainweb-EVM testnet runs the planned 5-chain EVM architecture and accepts Solidity contract deployments.

Mainnet: Not launched. Originally targeted for Q1 2026 under the Foundation's roadmap. After the October 2025 dissolution, the project's continued development became community-led; mainnet timing is not committed to a specific date.

Wallet support: Existing Pact-aware wallets do not yet implement Chainweb-EVM signing. Standard EVM wallets (MetaMask, Rabby, Frame) cannot currently interact with Kadena because the existing mainnet uses Pact, not Solidity.

How does Chainweb-EVM differ from Ethereum or EVM L2s?

Vs Ethereum mainnet: Ethereum is a single chain with high gas costs and limited throughput. Chainweb-EVM offers parallel-chain throughput within a single network.

Vs Ethereum Layer-2s: L2s rely on Ethereum mainnet for finality. Chainweb-EVM is part of Kadena's own Layer-1 with its own security from merged Chainweb mining.

Vs other EVM-compatible L1s: Chainweb-EVM's distinctive architectural feature is the Pact + EVM coexistence in a single network — Pact for security-critical applications, EVM for the broader Solidity ecosystem.

Wallet support — current and roadmap

Current state. No wallet supports Chainweb-EVM mainnet (because mainnet has not launched).

Roadmap (Kadena Wallet specifically). Kadena Wallet's roadmap includes EVM-side support pending mainnet release.

Why MetaMask cannot interact with current Kadena. MetaMask is EVM-only. The existing 20 Kadena chains run Pact, which is not EVM-compatible.

Why MetaMask might work after Chainweb-EVM mainnet. The 5 EVM-side chains would expose standard JSON-RPC endpoints. Once live, MetaMask configuration would allow basic interaction with Chainweb-EVM accounts and contracts.

Chainweb-EVM section

The Chainweb-EVM initiative was formally announced under the Kadena Foundation as an extension to the existing Chainweb architecture. The technical design (5 EVM-compatible chains running alongside the 20 Pact chains, cross-chain transfers between execution environments, shared Chainweb security model) was published in technical specifications and discussed at Kadena ecosystem events through 2024-2025.

After the Foundation dissolution in October 2025, project continuation moved to a community-led structure. Mainnet timing is not committed.

RPC endpoints

Pact-side mainnet RPC. The existing 20 Kadena chains expose standard Chainweb RPC endpoints. Multiple public RPC providers serve these endpoints.

Pact-side testnet RPC. Kadena testnet (testnet04) exposes RPC endpoints for development.

Chainweb-EVM testnet RPC. EVM-style JSON-RPC endpoints for the testnet EVM chains. Verify current URLs against current Chainweb-EVM documentation.

Chainweb-EVM mainnet RPC. Not applicable; mainnet has not launched.

We do not publish specific RPC URLs on this page because URLs change as infrastructure providers come and go. For current verified URLs, check the official Chainweb node-operator documentation.

Testnet faucet

Pact-side testnet faucet. A testnet KDA faucet has been maintained for the Pact-side testnet. After the Foundation dissolution, faucet operation became community-maintained.

Chainweb-EVM testnet faucet. A separate faucet for the EVM-side testnet exists where the testnet EVM chains are operational.

Both faucets typically have rate limits per IP address per day. Use responsibly.

Forward-looking: when Chainweb-EVM mainnet ships

If and when Chainweb-EVM mainnet launches, several things become possible:

MetaMask, Rabby, and other EVM wallets can interact with the EVM-side chains via standard JSON-RPC.
Solidity developers can deploy production contracts on Kadena.
Cross-chain transfers can move assets between Pact-side accounts and EVM-side accounts.
Existing Pact-based dApps continue to operate unchanged on the existing 20 chains.
Kadena Wallet (per roadmap) adds EVM-side account support.

We do not commit to dates. We will publish news when verifiable mainnet progress occurs. See News.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Chainweb-EVM live?

Testnet only as of 2026-05-07. Mainnet has not launched.

Will Chainweb-EVM mainnet launch?

Possibly. The technical design is reasonably mature. Coordination for mainnet launch in a community-led environment is uncertain. We do not have a specific date.

Can I deploy a Solidity contract on Kadena now?

On Chainweb-EVM testnet: yes. On mainnet: not yet (mainnet has not launched).

Will MetaMask work with Chainweb-EVM?

If and when Chainweb-EVM mainnet launches with EVM compatibility as designed, MetaMask should work for the EVM chains via standard custom-RPC configuration. Pact chains would still require Kadena-aware wallets.

What's the chain count when Chainweb-EVM mainnet launches?

20 Pact chains + 5 EVM chains = 25 total in the initial Chainweb-EVM mainnet design.

Will existing Pact dApps stop working when Chainweb-EVM launches?

No. Pact chains continue to run Pact contracts. EVM chains run Solidity contracts. They coexist by design.

What's the gas token for Chainweb-EVM chains?

KDA, the existing Kadena native token, per the design.

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