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Ronin is a blockchain network and crypto that’s primarily used as the foundational technology to build and run Web3 games. It was created by a Vietnamese game development company called Sky Mavis, primarily to support a popular Web3 game it also created called Axie Infinity.
The Ronin network includes:
- The network’s native cryptocurrency token, called Ronin, and represented by the ticker RON. $RON is used to pay for transactions on the network, such as fees on trades.
- A native decentralised exchange (DEX) called Katana, or Ronin DEX. As well as ease of exchanging tokens within a game, Katana enables users to earn RON rewards from liquidity pools and staking.
- The Ronin wallet, a digital wallet that gamers can use to send, receive and hold tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) used within the Ronin gaming ecosystem.
- An NFT marketplace called Mavis Market, where gamers can use RON to buy NFT assets used within Web3 games.
Ronin is what’s called a side chain—a separate blockchain linked to a main blockchain (in this case, Ethereum) via a software-enabled ‘bridge’. Unfortunately, Ronin’s bridge is notorious for being the target of one of the industry’s biggest-ever hacks.
The Ronin network and cryptocurrency supports more efficient monetisation of gaming, for both developers and players, by making transactions cheaper and faster compared to Ethereum.
Ronin boasts two of the most popular Web3 play-to-earn games— Pixels and Axie Infinity—which are among the [top Web3 games](https://dappradar.com/rankings/games?range=30d&sort=uawCount&order=desc) globally, based on unique active wallets interacting within the game. Play-to-earn is when players can generate real-world earnings from digital assets used or acquired through in-game activities.
