Ronin

Ronin is an EVM-compatible chain originally built by Sky Mavis to scale Axie Infinity off of Ethereum. It has since opened up to other Web3 games and apps, with low fees and fast confirmations tuned for gaming. RON is the native token used for fees, staking, and governance, and powers a growing ecosystem of game studios, NFT marketplaces, and DeFi.

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What Is Ronin?

Ronin is an EVM-compatible blockchain originally built by Sky Mavis as a sidechain to scale Axie Infinity off of Ethereum, where high gas fees were making large-scale gameplay unaffordable. Announced in 2020 and launched in early 2021, Ronin grew explosively alongside Axie in 2021 and then weathered a difficult 2022 (including a major bridge hack), after which Sky Mavis rebuilt Ronin's security model and opened the chain to other game studios and apps. Ronin is now positioned as a public gaming-focused L1 with low fees, fast finality, and a built-in user base of millions of game accounts.

Overview - Table of Contents
What Is Ronin?
Getting Started With Ronin
How To Get A Ronin Wallet?
Ronin Resources
How To Buy Ronin?
Latest Ronin News

Sky Mavis was founded in 2018 by Trung Nguyen, Aleksander Larsen, Andy Ho, Jeffrey Zirlin, and Tu Doan, the team behind Axie Infinity. Ronin originally launched as a permissioned sidechain optimized for the Axie game economy. After the March 2022 Ronin Bridge hack (where attackers compromised validator keys and drained over $600 million), Sky Mavis returned the affected funds, redesigned the validator set and bridge architecture, and opened Ronin to outside developers.

Technically, Ronin is EVM-compatible and uses a hybrid Proof of Authority and Delegated Proof of Stake consensus. A set of governing validators sits alongside standard validators that are selected by RON staking and delegation, and the network produces blocks with fast times and fees that are typically a small fraction of a cent. Standard Ethereum tooling (Solidity, Hardhat, Foundry, MetaMask) works with Ronin after configuring the network details.

RON is the native token of Ronin. It is used to pay transaction fees, stake or delegate to validators, and participate in governance. After Ronin opened to external developers, RON also became the gas asset for non-Axie applications and a focal point for ecosystem incentives.

The gaming ecosystem on Ronin includes Axie Infinity (the original anchor app) and its spin-offs such as Axie Homeland and Origins, plus games from outside studios such as Pixels (a social farming game that migrated from Polygon to Ronin), Apeiron, Kaidro, Tribesters, and many others. Mavis Market is the flagship NFT marketplace, and Katana is Ronin's main DEX.

Ronin has also added a bridge to Ethereum and other chains, with a redesigned bridge architecture and a larger, more decentralized validator set after the 2022 incident. The chain has shipped account abstraction features, social login, and developer tools tailored to game studios that need to onboard non-crypto users.

Getting Started With Ronin

Ronin is set up to make gaming on-chain feel close to playing a normal mobile or PC game:

Step 1: Install the Ronin Wallet browser extension or mobile app, or connect through a game's built-in social login.
Step 2: Acquire RON on a supported exchange and bridge or withdraw it to your Ronin address.
Step 3: Play Ronin games such as Axie Infinity, Pixels, or Apeiron, and trade NFTs on Mavis Market.
Step 4: Provide liquidity or swap tokens on Katana, stake RON, or delegate to a validator to earn rewards.

How to Get a Ronin Wallet?

The primary wallet for the network is the Ronin Wallet, with EVM wallets supported as alternatives:

Ronin Wallet

Ronin Wallet is the official non-custodial wallet built by Sky Mavis. It is available as a browser extension and mobile app, supports RON, AXS, SLP, and Ronin NFTs, and integrates directly with Ronin games and marketplaces.

MetaMask

MetaMask can be configured with Ronin network details to manage RON and Ronin tokens, sign transactions, and interact with Ronin dApps.

Coinbase Wallet

Coinbase Wallet supports custom EVM networks including Ronin, providing an alternative non-custodial mobile and browser option.

Hardware Wallets

Ledger devices support Ronin through their Ethereum app, which can be paired with Ronin Wallet or MetaMask for cold-storage signing.

Ronin Resources

How to Buy Ronin?

RON is listed on a range of major exchanges:

Centralized Exchanges

RON trades on Binance (regional availability varies), Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit, OKX, KuCoin, Bitget, and Gate. Common pairs include RON/USDT, RON/USDC, and RON/BTC.

Decentralized Exchanges

On Ronin itself, RON trades on Katana, the network's main DEX, alongside AXS, SLP, and other Ronin tokens. The Ronin Bridge connects Ronin to Ethereum for cross-chain swaps.

After buying, RON can be used to pay fees, staked or delegated to validators for rewards, or held to participate in games and DeFi on Ronin.

Latest Ronin News

The most consequential ongoing change for Ronin is the chain's evolution from an Axie-specific sidechain into a broader gaming L1. Sky Mavis has continued onboarding outside game studios, with Pixels migrating from Polygon being one of the most visible examples. The team has also shipped account abstraction features and developer tooling aimed at making it easier for game studios to onboard players without crypto experience.

Follow the Ronin blog, Sky Mavis announcements, and the Axie Infinity channels for protocol upgrades, new game launches, and ecosystem partnerships.