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Smart Contracts on Polkadot Hub

Introduction

Polkadot Hub enables developers to deploy and interact with Solidity contracts through REVM, a high-performance, Rust-based Ethereum Virtual Machine implementation. Polkadot-native precompiles bring Ethereum compatibility to Polkadot Hub, letting teams use familiar Solidity tooling, integrate with on-chain features like governance and XCM, and take advantage of cross-chain interoperability.

For projects that require maximum computational performance, Polkadot Hub also supports PolkaVM (PVM), a native RISC-V execution engine. PVM is optional and designed for high-throughput, performance-intensive smart contracts.

REVM Smart Contracts

REVM brings full EVM compatibility to Polkadot Hub through a fast, memory-safe Rust implementation of the Ethereum Virtual Machine. Unlike PolkaVM, which compiles contracts to RISC-V for native execution, REVM executes standard Ethereum bytecode directly—making it ideal for teams who want to migrate existing Solidity projects to Polkadot with minimal changes.

With REVM, developers can:

  • Deploy existing Solidity contracts without rewriting them.
  • Use familiar Ethereum tooling like Hardhat, Foundry, Remix, and MetaMask.
  • Interact with other parachains and on-chain assets using XCM and Polkadot Hub features.

REVM builds on Rust’s safety guarantees and performance optimizations while retaining full opcode compatibility with the EVM.

Ethereum-native developers can use Polkadot-native precompiles to access Polkadot features—such as governance, treasury, multisig, and XCM—within a unified, interoperable runtime environment.

PVM Smart Contracts

PVM is Polkadot Hub’s native, high-performance smart contract engine. Instead of emulating EVM bytecode, it runs contracts compiled to a RISC-V instruction set, unlocking higher performance and parallel execution while staying friendly to Ethereum-style development.

With PVM, developers can:

  • Write Solidity contracts and use familiar tooling (e.g., Hardhat, Foundry) targeting PVM
  • Benefit from fast, predictable execution with carefully metered gas/weight.
  • Access detailed observability through Substrate events and contract logs for indexing and debugging.

PolkaVM delivers maximum performance for computationally intensive contracts, offering a native, high-throughput option for Ethereum-style developers on Polkadot Hub.

PVM Preview Release

PVM smart contracts with Ethereum compatibility are in early-stage development and may be unstable or incomplete.

Where to Go Next

  • Guide Deploy a Basic Contract

    Learn step-by-step how to deploy a basic Solidity smart contract to Polkadot Hub.

    Get Started

  • Guide Explore Development Environments

    Check out the development environments you can use to build, test, and deploy smart contracts.

    Get Started

Last update: January 14, 2026
| Created: January 14, 2026