What is xChain EVM? — xChain EVM Docs

What is xChain EVM?

xChain EVM lets you use your existing Ethereum wallet to control an Algorand account. No new wallet, no new seed phrase, no new app to install.

xChain EVM derives an Algorand address from your EVM address and uses an on-chain Smart Account to verify your EVM signatures.

How It Works (High Level)

  1. Your EVM address (20 bytes) is used to deterministically generate an Algorand Smart Signature Account
  2. When you want to transact on Algorand, the app builds the transaction and asks your wallet to sign an EIP-712 typed data message
  3. The signature is attached to the Smart Account, which verifies the ECDSA signature on-chain using Algorand's ecdsa_pk_recover opcode
  4. If valid, the transaction executes on Algorand

Your private key never leaves your wallet. The Smart Account only checks that the signature matches the expected EVM address - it cannot move funds on its own.

What Can You Do?