What is Ronin Network (RON)?

Competition in the blockchain gaming sector is intensifying. New blockchains are emerging with a lot of potential. However, Ronin, as one of the early-generation gaming blockchains, still shows its superiority. Throughout 2023, Ronin managed to record solid performance metrics. In addition, it also actively brings new features that support the gamer’s needs. So, what is Ronin? Check out the full explanation in the following article.

Article Summary

• ⛓️ Ronin is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible layer-1 blockchain built for the gaming ecosystem.
• ⚡ Ronin utilizes a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism to improve scalability, security, and keep transaction fees low.
• ✨ In addition to the gaming platform, Ronin also offers other features such as Ronin Name Service, Ronin Wallet, and Mavis Market.
• 🪙 RON is the native token of the Ronin ecosystem. Other than being a utility token, RON holders who stake their tokens have the opportunity to get airdrops from game projects built on the Ronin blockchain.

What is Ronin?

Ronin is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible layer-1 blockchain built for the gaming ecosystem. It has proven to be a blockchain that can scale gaming to accommodate millions of daily active users. In addition, it has also proven to successfully process NFTs with a total volume of over $4 billion.

This record is due to Ronin’s ability to optimize transactions instantly at a low cost. As a result, millions of in-game transactions can be processed seamlessly, making Ronin the first choice for Web3 games.

Ronin was founded by Sky Mavis, the creator of the highly acclaimed Web3 game Axie Infinity. Sky Mavis is a crypto startup founded in 2018 by Trung Nguyen, Aleksander Larsen, Jeffrey Zirlin, Viet Anh Ho Sy, and Tu Doan. Based on Tracxn data, Sky Mavis has 26 institutional investors, including Animoca Brands and Andreessen Horowitz, and has raised $311 million in funding.

Ronin has become one of the gaming blockchains with significant growth throughout 2023. This can be seen from daily active addresses, market capitalization, and Total Value Locked (TVL) increases.

At the beginning of 2023, Ronin’s daily active addresses were only around 12,000. Now, the number has reached more than 200,000, a 16x increase. Then, in terms of market capitalization, the RON token now amounts to $500 million. The figure was only around $40 million at the start of the year. As for the total value locked (TVL), the figure has increased from $48 million to $145 million.

How Ronin Works

Ronin initially used the Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus mechanism. Sky Mavis and the community chose trusted validators to run the network and verify transactions in this mechanism. However, PoA requires high trust between the chosen validators.

Seeing this as less than ideal, Ronin changed it to Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) in April last year. DPoS is a consensus mechanism where RON token holders delegate their staked tokens to validators. Later, these validators will verify transactions, produce new blocks, and receive rewards.

Through DPoS, anyone can become a validator as long as they own RON tokens. The Ronin network can be more decentralized and secure this way. At the same time, Ronin still maintains the advantages of PoA, such as transaction processing speed and lower transaction fees.

Since switching to DPoS, several large institutions such as Google, Animoca Brands, Nansen, and DappRadar have contributed to the safety of the Ronin network by becoming Governing Validators. Meanwhile, many other community members have become Standard Validators. Notably, at least 22 validators and 20,000 delegators are securing Ronin with more than 170 million RON (60% of circulating supply) at stake.

Ronin's 22 validators are quite low, making it fairly centralized. To become a validator on Ronin, RON token holders must stake at least 250,000 RON. To increase decentralization, the Ronin development team plans to continue expanding the number of validators while lowering the threshold gradually.

Ronin’s Feature

Ronin has many features that can support the Web3 gamers’ needs. The following are some of its features:

1. Gaming Platform

As a gaming platform, Ronin has become a hub for innovative blockchain games. Of course, Axie Infinity is the biggest and most popular game on Ronin. It is one of the pioneering Play-to-earn-based blockchain games that boomed in 2021. Even Axie Infinity is still one of the most popular Web3 games today.

Meanwhile, there is also Pixels, the newest game in Ronin. It is a P2E game that allows players to garden, gather, and build their homes in Pixels. Pixels already has over 900k users and works with 84 NFT collectibles that are transformed into characters in Pixels. Other games include Battle Bears Heroes, The Machine Arena, Axie Champions, Aperion, etc.

2. Ronin Name Service

Ronin Name Service (RNS) is a naming system on the Ronin blockchain that allows the creation of .ron domain names to be more readable. It is modeled after Ethereum’s Ethereum Name Service (ENS) concept. But what makes it different is the anti-squatting fee. The fee gives users a better chance of choosing a username of their preference.

With RNS, there is no more domain ronin:41d8cf42236be14cc7b0c0df519a9582d7ad423. Users can change it to a friendlier username, such as pintuacademy.ron. RNS has been integrated with Ronin’s games, wallets, and dapps. Making the .ron domain like a username in the entire Ronin ecosystem. The RNS service can be accessed via id.roninchain.com.

3. Ronin Wallet

Ronin Wallet is a crypto wallet for the Ronin blockchain ecosystem. It is available as a web browser extension and mobile app for iOS and Android. There were 12 million Ronin Wallet addresses, with 1.2 million new addresses created in 2023.

Earlier this year, Ronin Wallet added several new features to enhance its wallet functionalities. The updates include adding networks that support other blockchains, such as Polygon and BNB Chain. Additionally, Ronin Wallet has included a Binance Pay feature that enables users to buy tokens within the Ronin ecosystem

4. Mavis Market

In May 2023, Ronin officially launched Mavis Market, a generalized NFT marketplace. Through Mavis Market, NFT creators can launch or migrate their NFT collections. “The CyberKongz” is the first NFT launched on Mavis Market.

One of the things that differentiates Mavis Market from other NFT marketplaces is its approach to royalty structure. It uses guaranteed creator royalties. This approach allows creators to set the percentage of royalties on their works. Meanwhile, Sky Mavis and Ronin charge 2% and 0.5%, respectively, from transactions made by NFT buyers. While the rest will be the seller’s revenue.

Ronin’s Advantages

• 🤑 Low transaction fees. With the DPoS mechanism, Ronin manages to lower transaction fees than Ethereum. As a blockchain that focuses on the gaming sector, low fees are essential due to the large number of in-game transactions that users will make.
• ⚡ Fast transaction processing. In addition to low fees, transaction processing should also be fast. This is to ensure a seamless experience for trading NFTs and in-game assets. The combination of DPoS and PoA allows Ronin to achieve this.
• 💪 Growing user base. All of Ronin’s metrics show solid growth throughout 2023. This makes Ronin a potential place to develop games and apps as its user base grows.

RON as an Investment

RON is the native token of the Ronin ecosystem. It has various utilities such as payment for transactions on Ronin, governance on the Ronin network, and staking.

RON has a total supply of 1 billion tokens, with 299 million RON in circulation. The RON token price was stuck below $0.5 throughout 2023. However, near the end of 2023, the token rallied strongly. By February 23, 2024, the RON price was already $3.07.

Ronin’s development team is developing Zero-Knowledge (ZK) rollups to improve Ronin’s scalability. Zero-Knowledge (ZK) rollups enable larger transaction volumes and maintain low transaction fees.

As one of the gaming blockchains with solid growth metrics, RON could be one of the potential gaming sector tokens. Moreover, the GameFi sector is improving with new generations of blockchain game projects. If the GameFi narrative gains traction again, it will likely be a positive catalyst for RON tokens. However, RON has to compete with many new gaming blockchains such as Beam, Immutable X, Treasure, etc.

Aside from rising token price, the potential for RON tokens also comes from the opportunity to get airdrops. Recently, RON owners who staked their tokens received PIXEL token airdrops. Therefore, it is likely that other game projects built using the Ronin blockchain will also airdrop token for RON stakers.

Conclusion

Ronin is an EVM-compatible L1 blockchain designed specifically for the gaming ecosystem. This blockchain has been proven to improve gaming scalability. It can accommodate millions of daily active users and successfully process NFTs with a total volume of over $4 billion.

Ronin initially used a Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus mechanism before switching to Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) to enhance decentralization and security. Its features include a gaming platform, Ronin Name Service, Ronin Wallet, and Mavis Market. In addition to the potential price increase, the RON token also offers airdrop opportunities for holders who stake their RON.

How to Buy RON on Pintu

After knowing what Ronin is, you can start investing in RON by buying it on Pintu app. Here is how to buy crypto on Pintu application:

1. Create a Pintu account and follow the process of verifying your identity to start trading.
2. On the homepage, click the deposit button and top up the Pintu balance using your preferred payment method.
3. Go to the market page and look for RON.
4. Click buy and fill in the amount you want.
5. Now you have RON!

In addition to RON, you can safely and conveniently purchase a wide range of cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, SOL, and others safely and easily on Pintu. Pintu diligently evaluates all its crypto assets, highlighting the significance of being cautious.

Pintu is also compatible with popular wallets such as Metamask to facilitate your transactions. Download Pintu app on Play Store and App Store! Your security is guaranteed because Pintu is regulated and supervised by Bappebti and Kominfo.

Aside from buying and trading crypto assets, you can expand your knowledge about cryptocurrencies through various Pintu Academy articles. Updated weekly, all Pintu Academy articles are made for knowledge and educational purposes, not as financial advice.

References

• Ronin Docs, Introduction: What is Ronin, accessed on 23 February 2024.
• Ronin Network, The Dawn of Ronin, Ronin Blog, accessed on 23 February 2024.
• Laticia Melo, What is Ronin Network? All About the Gaming Blockchain, Dapp Radar, accessed on 23 February 2024.