The Ronin network boasts a compact yet comprehensive ecosystem that encompasses all the key components of decentralized finance. Originally developed for Axie Infinity, Ronin has expanded its usage to include DeFi projects and other games.
In May, Ronin experienced significant growth in the DeFi sector, particularly due to the influx of funds into the MetaLend project. Over the course of a month, the project’s total value locked (TVL) increased by 30%, contributing to Ronin’s overall recovery in the past two quarters.
April proved to be a turning point for the Ronin network, with the return of new active wallets across all use cases. Alongside DeFi, Ronin has been expanding its reach by incorporating third-party games, thereby broadening its portfolio beyond the selection of Axie Infinity games. This expansion has played a crucial role in Ronin’s recovery following the 2022 hack, which resulted in the loss of approximately $600 million worth of tokens from the Ronin bridge.
Ronin’s growth has transcended its initial focus on games. Originally designed as a tool for managing assets in the Axie Infinity game, Ronin was created to facilitate cheaper transactions and trading for Axie NFTs, as well as AXS and SLP token transfers. The Katana DEX was also launched to cater to the gaming community. However, Ronin now features a native wallet and an array of additional functions that enable integration with the broader Web3 space. By adding Coinbase Pay, Ronin has widened its potential audience to include an additional 90 million users, based on Coinbase’s statistics.
To further expand its user base, Ronin incentivizes daily active users through gaming challenge events, tournaments, and a play-to-airdrop model for otherwise free games. These activities have resulted in significant growth in the number of daily active wallets.
Moreover, Ronin offers seamless integration with the Katana exchange through its app, providing easier access to a wider selection of small-scale and riskier tokens. While the Katana exchange boasts a daily turnover of approximately $4.2 billion, liquidity remains limited to a small selection of top tokens.
The RON token is currently striving to regain its $1 billion valuation and potentially emerge as one of the crypto space’s successful unicorns. In 2024, RON achieved remarkable success, surging during the latest bull market to reach an all-time high of $4.40 in March. Even after two months, RON has managed to retain a significant portion of its gains, trading at $2.80 and boasting a total valuation of $913 million.
RON’s daily trading volumes are relatively modest, hovering around $13 million. However, even a surge in trading activity to $100 million could trigger a substantial rally. Under the current market conditions, RON is seen as potentially bullish if interest in Web3 and gaming experiences a resurgence.
RON has also benefited from a new trading pair, as it was listed on the HTX exchange at the end of April, paired with USDT.
Ronin enjoys the advantage of capturing attention whenever users return to Axie Infinity, one of the most prominent games during the play-to-earn boom of 2021. The game is currently witnessing renewed interest, with over 38,000 daily active players and a turnover of over $1 billion in value.
Users on Ronin are also breathing new life into the NFT trading associated with the Axie games, driving increased turnover and interest in Axie metaverse land plots. Axie Infinity recently achieved its highest level of player activity in the past 12 months, with the Ronin blockchain facilitating up to 60,000 transactions per day.
In addition to gaming, Ronin is actively developing a blockchain-based ID, which is one of the most promising use cases for Web3 in 2024. Ronin offers a .ron naming service, enabling the creation of specialized addresses similar to Ethereum’s Domain Name Service.
Furthermore, RON is becoming scarcer as approximately 20% of the total supply has been staked. The number of staked tokens has already surpassed 209 million, while the total supply of RON will never exceed 1 billion. Around 145,000 Ronin wallets have delegated their tokens.
With a circulating free supply of only around 322 million tokens, the demand for RON tokens for fees, gaming, and trading is steadily increasing.