1. Key Takeaways
Ronin was initially developed to meet the specific needs of a single game through token incentives aimed at attracting users and prioritizing creating a vibrant and cohesive community from the outset. This approach has demonstrated its viability. Axie Infinity, leveraging Ronin, represents the first Go-to-Market strategy for Gaming Blockchain.
Ronin’s forthcoming strategy is to evolve into a Permissionless blockchain akin to a global app store. This will allow various products and services to build a blockchain using Ronin’s infrastructure.
Currently, many gaming blockchains face challenges in attracting users, fostering a dedicated community, and managing technological risks inherent to blockchain. By building on Ronin, these projects can enhance the social layer for both parties involved, strengthening the relationship between users and products.
Ronin also promises higher user retention rates. It aims to become the aggregation layer for user demand.
From a technological standpoint, Ronin is designed to bridge the gap between advanced technology and user engagement, particularly for startups.
Ronin will offer a scalable and user-friendly network, supporting game applications and fostering a thriving ecosystem for both users and developers.
2. Ronin Ecosystem
Ronin commands 80% of the web3 gamers market, boasting over 1.3 million daily active addresses (DAA) and 3.3 million monthly active addresses (MAA), solidifying its leading position. The Ronin wallet, with over 17 million downloads, underscores its popularity and user-friendliness among gamers and crypto users. Additionally, the network’s security is bolstered by 120,000 stackers, reflecting robust community trust and participation.
With a vision anchored in network effects, Ronin aims to catalyze a flywheel effect for its ecosystem through:
- Advanced Technology: Facilitates the development of a decentralized, secure, and scalable ecosystem capable of supporting billions of web3 users.
- Economic Integration: Enables the direct connection of application-layer economies with the protocol, where applications contribute fees to the protocol, driving ecosystem growth, and in return, receive goodwill from the Ronin community.
- Dynamic and Innovative Ecosystem: Provides developers with access to new technologies prioritizing seamless user experiences, such as MPC wallets, social logins, and gas sponsoring. Additionally, Ronin offers support in establishing community-building standards, thereby enhancing community trust.
It is noteworthy to hear a comment from Jihoz_Axie about the vision for the Ronin Ecosystem:
"Our vision is to use gaming as an approachable entry point into the complex world of web3. Gamers, with their intrinsic understanding of digital economies and social interactions, are the ideal early adopters. I am a gamer, and learned some of life's most important lessons riding with my WOW guild, in late-night DOTA sessions in my high school dorm, and farming the cow level in Diablo 2– how to trade/barter, how to sniff out scams, how to work as a team, and those games are the perfect way to get people excited about new technology."
3. Ronin Infrastructure
Ronin ensures high throughput and low latency for transactions, making it ideal for applications requiring fast and reliable interactions. It includes the following parts of this great infrastructure:
3.1. Ronin Consensus
Initially, Ronin utilized Proof of Authority (PoA). However, in April 2023, Ronin transitioned to Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) to enhance the network’s decentralization.
The block creation process involves two participant groups: Governing Validators and Validator Candidates. For each epoch (approximately 10 minutes), a random list of 12 Governing Validators and 10 Validator Candidates is generated to build blocks for that epoch.
Governing Validators are required to stake RON. (Although not explicitly stated, these 12 Governing Validators were likely validators from the PoA phase, implying they are team-operated nodes.)
Validator Candidates can stake various tokens, including RON.
To approve a block, it must secure a voting weight greater than two-thirds. The voting weight of validators is calculated based on the following rules:
- If a validator has staked less than 1/22 of the total staked amount, its voting weight equals the amount it has staked.
- If a validator has staked more than 1/22 of the total staked amount, its voting weight is capped at 1/22 of the total staked amount.
This rule is designed to prevent the concentration of power among validators with large holdings.
3.2. Ronin ZKEVM
Ronin utilizes Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Rollups technology to enable rapid transaction verification and settlement on the mainnet.
The ZK prover is seamlessly integrated into the Ronin Protocol, allowing validators to establish their ZK-EVMs. Validators can select a ZK-EVM and initiate a new ZK-EVM chain.
ZK-EVMs operate through three key components:
- Sequencer: Must maintain validator status on Ronin and is responsible for ordering transactions.
- Prover: Open to anyone, responsible for executing transactions and generating Zero-Knowledge proofs.
- Governor: Comprising 12 Governing Validators who oversee and make decisions on upgrades and modifications, requiring at least 75% approval from Governing Validators to pass any changes.
Note: ZK-EVM Sequencers must stake RON and be Ronin Validators.
To address potential liquidity fragmentation due to the proliferation of ZK-EVM chains, Ronin introduces the Cross-Chain Relayer Service. This service facilitates the trading and exchange of any token or NFT between different ZK-EVM chains.
3.3. Ronin Bridge
The Ronin-Ethereum Bridge currently has 22 operators. A transaction is verified if 70% of the operators approve it. In the future, Ronin plans to enhance this system by incorporating a multi-proof system, specifically Zero-Knowledge proofs, to bolster security and efficiency.
3.4. Bridges between Ronin and ZKEVMs
These bridges are designed to enable users to conduct cross-chain transactions between any chains within the Ronin ecosystem.
The operation is similar to the Ronin-Ethereum Bridge but incorporates a multi-proof system. Executing a cross-chain transaction requires two layers of verification:
- ZK Proof: To verify the transaction’s validity.
- Operator Approval: 70% of the operators must approve the transactions.
3.5. Vision and Role of Ronin ZK-EVM in Gaming
Ronin distinguishes itself from other infrastructure projects in crypto by prioritizing not only technical innovation but also robust distribution and user adoption strategies. This approach is pivotal in steering blockchain away from being solely speculative and institutional, towards realizing its potential for economic freedom.
The introduction of Ronin zkEVM marks a significant evolution. This technology empowers game developers to launch their blockchain-based gaming universes on top of Ronin. This move leverages Ronin’s established success in gaming, starting with Axie Infinity, to expand into a broader ecosystem of diverse gaming experiences. Much like Apple’s expansion from music to mobile, Ronin intends to use gaming as a gateway to the broader adoption of blockchain applications, enhancing user engagement and economic participation.
It brings another level of potential ability by letting games now create their chain using the Ronin chain. It is easier now to onboard and become GameFi when there is already a good supply of good games ready to enter the market.
In summary, Ronin’s vision with zkEVM is not just about scaling its infrastructure but also about scaling the opportunities for developers and users within its ecosystem. By empowering developers to create their gaming chains and enabling seamless cross-chain experiences, Ronin is poised to lead the charge in redefining blockchain’s role in gaming and beyond.
The information provided in this article is for reference only and should not be taken as investment advice. All investment decisions should be based on thorough research and personal evaluation.
