Kava added Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) smart contract support with the alpha launch of its Ethereum Co-Chain, developers shared in a release on Tuesday.

The EVM launch enables developers and decentralized applications, or dapps, from the Ethereum ecosystem to build and deploy on Kava. EVM refers to a virtual computer accessible anywhere in the world through participating Ethereum nodes.Kava is built on Cosmos SDK – a framework for building public proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains – and aims to combine the Ethereum and Cosmos chains into a single network. This allows developers to build and deploy applications on a single chain that is accessible to users and assets of both Ethereum and Cosmos.Over 15 protocols will be deployed to the closed testnet of the Ethereum Co-Chain as part of the Kava Pioneer Program, including yield farming protocol Beefy Finance, yield aggregator AutoFarm, and liquidity protocol RenVM. These projects will test the interoperability between Kava's Ethereum and Cosmos Co-Chains prior to their mainnet launch."Ethereum is still where the vast majority of developers and protocols are, but Cosmos is growing fast and it offers so much more in terms of scalability and interoperability,” shared Scott Stuart, CEO of Kava Labs in a prepared statement.Protocols launching on the Kava network will also be able to take advantage of its $750 million Kava Rise developer incentive program following the mainnet launch.The Kava Rise fund launched in early-March after community votes. It would distribute 62.5% of all block rewards to developers building on the Kava Ethereum and Cosmos Co-Chains to support the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFTs.