State of Ronin Q4 2024

Key Insights

• Ronin experienced a 953.3% gain in average daily active addresses YoY. Its daily active addresses increased from 93,700 in Q4 2023 to 987,300 in Q4 2024.
• The network further enhanced its cross-chain capabilities by integrating Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), which bolstered the security and reliability of asset transfers within the Ronin ecosystem. This strategic decision underscores Ronin’s commitment to opening up its blockchain for further DeFi adoption.
• Cambria Cores successfully sold out its 10,000-item collection, generating 163,460 RON in sales. The strong demand for these NFTs reflects the growing interest in Cambria’s upcoming game and highlights Ronin’s ability to onboard games that will attract the interest of their players.
• Katana DEX upgrades from V2 to V3, introducing a 50% reduction in rewards and emissions, saving over 2.7 million RON per quarter. Ronin’s DeFi landscape with Katana V3 introduced features such as customizable fees and concentrated liquidity.
• Ronin's market cap increased 39.6% YoY. Ronin saw significant growth YoY, with the RON token market cap increasing from $0.5 billion to $0.7 billion market cap.

Primer

Ronin is a Layer-1 blockchain developed by Sky Mavis to address scalability challenges in Web3 gaming ecosystems, particularly for Axie Infinity. Initially using a Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus model, Ronin transitioned to Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) in 2023 to improve decentralization while maintaining efficient transaction processing. The 2024 Goda Upgrade further enhanced decentralization with Rotating Validators and separated block production from finality voting. Designed with developers in mind, Ronin is fully EVM-compatible, supporting tools such as Remix and Hardhat for streamlined integration. Future plans include the adoption of Zero-Knowledge (ZK) rollups, enabling game studios to scale with dedicated blockspace while maintaining unified liquidity on Ronin’s L1. Additionally, Ronin has adopted Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) to enhance the security of its bridged assets and simplify cross-chain token transfers. CCIP’s capabilities include programmable token transfers, cross-chain messaging, and future-proof scalability, offering developers seamless interoperability and additional use cases such as cross-chain NFTs and DeFi applications.

For a full primer on Ronin, refer to our Initiation of Coverage report.

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Key Metrics

Performance AnalysisFinancial Overview

Over Q4, Ronin saw strong growth QoQ with an increase of 16.3% in its circulating market cap, from $623.8 million to $724.8 million, and a 1.4% increase in its marketplace volume from $16.0 million to $16.2 million. Ronin saw positive growth in Q4, likely due to its efforts in ecosystem development, having multiple game activations and application upgrades over the course of Q4, such as the Forgotten Runiverse Might vs. Magic event, the Axie Infinity: Wings of Nightmare event and the Katana V3 DEX upgrade.

Market cap and price

In Q4 2024, RON’s market cap and price displayed notable volatility but ended the year on a strong upward trend. October began with the token trading at $1.66 and a market cap of $581.0 million. Despite intermittent dips, mid-November marked a pivotal shift as the market cap surged to $802.0 million by month’s end, with the token reaching $2.20. December amplified this momentum, peaking at $2.36 on Dec. 17. This rise reflected increased ecosystem activity, including new partnerships and heightened adoption of Ronin.

Network OverviewUsage

Ronin’s Q4 2024 growth was fueled by significant events that increased active and new users; one of these major events was Axie Infinity’s Wings of Nightmare. This new event introduced the Lunacian Dream World and allowed players to evolve Axies into rare “Nightmare” forms. These exclusive features energized the community and increased gameplay activity. As a result, daily active users surged, peaking at over 1.36 million on Nov. 27. This coincided with over 114,000 new users, the highest single-day growth in Q4.

The Katana DEX upgrade on Nov. 26 further fueled engagement. The upgrade improved trading efficiency and enhanced liquidity management. Users explored new trading strategies, which led to increased transaction volumes and further adoption of the Ronin ecosystem. This upgrade reinforced Katana as a critical driver of Ronin’s DeFi activity.

In November 2024, Ronin experienced substantial growth, driven by a series of impactful events that energized its ecosystem. Lumiterra Game’s CBT 2 attracted competitive players with a $1.0 million prize pool, while the Kaidro Chronicle Pilots NFT Raffle had 682,750 RON locked within 24 hours of launching its contest. These milestones collectively strengthened user engagement and likely increased activity onchain.

Average daily transactions and transaction fees rebounded from the quarter lows and reached an all-time high on Dec. 4, 2024. This increase marked a 261.22% rise in daily transactions from 855,500 to 3.1 million. Transaction fees also spiked on the same day, which attributed to a 501.68% increase, going from $1,934 to $11,600 in fees. This sharp increase on this day can be attributed to many factors, such as the Mavis Market revamp and the Katana V3 upgrade that happened a few days prior. This spike only lasted for a short period as the number of transactions overall finished with a decrease QoQ, experiencing a decline of 34.37% from 2.2 million down to 1.3 million.

NFT marketplace volume

In Q4, NFT trading volumes across the Mavis Market and Axie Infinity marketplace showed diverging trends. Axie Infinity’s marketplace saw a 39% increase in daily trading volume QoQ, rising from $68,847 to $95,694. This growth is largely attributed to the Wings of Nightmare event, which introduced Lunacia’s Dream World to Axie Infinity. The event enabled players to evolve eligible Axie parts into Stage 2 Nightmare Parts or ultra-rare Nightmare Bodies, driving renewed engagement and marketplace activity.

Conversely, the Mavis Market experienced a 31.7% decline in daily trading volume QoQ, dropping from $97,459 to $74,299. Despite these mixed results, Axie Infinity’s efforts demonstrate the continued potential for innovative events to reignite interest and activity within the Ronin ecosystem.

Ecosystem and Development OverviewTotal Value Locked (TVL)

Over Q4, Ronin DeFi TVL remained relatively stable, with end-of-quarter figures showing that DeFi TVL decreased by 4.3% QoQ from $146.7 million to $140.1 million. However, YoY Ronin showed an increase of 1.2%. Over the course of the year, Ronin has shown relatively stable DeFi TVL, demonstrating user confidence in their products. With the recent launch of Chainlink’s CCIP and Ronin taking a more DeFi-focused approach, we will likely see a continued and growing interest in Ronin’s DeFi suite of applications.

Partnerships and developmentsMavis Market supports any Ronin token

Mavis Market expanded its platform to support NFT purchases with any token on Ronin, allowing users to buy NFTs with PHPC, PIXEL, WBTC, and more.

Ronin adopts Chainlink CCIP as cross-chain infrastructure

Ronin validators approved the integration of Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) as the network’s canonical cross-chain solution. Following a rigorous three-phase request for proposal process involving LayerZero, Axelar, and Chainlink, the validator community selected CCIP due to its robust security features and proven reliability. Chainlink’s infrastructure, including Decentralized Oracle Networks (DONs) and an independent Risk Management Network, has secured over $75 billion in DeFi TVL and enabled $15.0 trillion in transactional value since 2022. The adoption of CCIP enhances the security of bridged assets and simplifies cross-chain token transfers, starting with Ethereum-to-Ronin transfers. CCIP’s capabilities include programmable token transfers, cross-chain messaging, and future-proof scalability, offering developers seamless interoperability and additional use cases such as cross-chain NFTs and DeFi applications. This strategic upgrade bolsters Ronin’s security, supports its multichain vision, and paves the way for deeper integration with Chainlink’s Oracle services, positioning the network for sustained growth.

Ronin partners with Moralis API

Ronin has partnered with Moralis, a leading provider of APIs and RPC nodes, to enhance the network’s accessibility and data capabilities for blockchains. Moralis offers developers real-time blockchain data across major EVM chains, including Ronin, through tools such as the NFT API for portfolio tracking, the Wallet API for cross-chain wallet insights, and Moralis Streams for monitoring onchain events. This integration empowers Ronin builders to seamlessly access reliable onchain data, enabling the development of NFT discovery pages, crypto news feeds, and other applications. Additionally, Moralis APIs enhance the Ronin Wallet, streamlining cross-chain asset management and providing real-time token price updates. By leveraging Moralis, Ronin strengthens its infrastructure and accelerates the growth of its permissionless ecosystem.

Sky Mavis developer contributes to EIP-7695

Over Q4, a developer of Sky Mavis, known as Duc Tho Tran, made valuable contributions to EIP-7695, a proposal that focused on improving the rental experience of ERC-721 tokens or NFTs. EIP-7695 Introduces contexts and ownership delegation for ERC-721 tokens, expanding application and financial use cases without transferring ownership. Tran’s proposed improvements would include enabling onchain NFT delegation to scholars, allowing them to use the NFT in-game and across various experiences. Meanwhile, the owner would retain the NFT in their wallet, preserving airdrops, badges, and reputation.

Dune launches support for Ronin

On November 11, 2024, Dune announced support for Ronin, enhancing data accessibility across the ecosystem. As a leading platform for blockchain data visualization and analysis, Dune empowers users to create custom dashboards, track key metrics, and share insights. This integration provides Ronin developers and community members with powerful tools to monitor onchain activity, analyze ecosystem growth, and support data-driven decision-making.

Katana V3 Dex

On Dec. 2, 2024, it was announced that Katana had been upgraded to their V3 model. This upgrade brought new features, including customizable fees and concentrated liquidity. With the new customizable fees, a portion of all transaction fees would now go to Ronin based on the fee structure the user set. Users could set fees ranging from 0.01% to 1%, with Ronin receiving anywhere from 0.005% to 0.15%. These features enable LPs to set more precise profit margins and risk levels. With the upgrade, rewards and emissions were cut by 50%, saving over 2.7 million RON per quarter and reducing RON inflation without significantly impacting liquidity.

Ecosystem and network expansionFableborne migrates to Ronin

Fableborne, a mobile-first multiplayer game combining action RPG elements with base-building strategy, announced its migration from Avalanche to Ronin. The developers highlighted Ronin’s strong gaming ecosystem and engaged community as key factors in the move. Fableborne has completed two open beta seasons and launched a third in Q4, attracting over 149,000 players.

Axie Infinity launches Wings of Nightmare

On Nov. 21, Axie Infinity launched the Wings of Nightmare event, introducing Lunacia’s Dream World to Axie Infinity. This limited-time campaign allowed players to evolve eligible Axie parts into Stage 2 Nightmare Parts or ultra-rare Nightmare Bodies. Nightmare Parts, capped at 39,000, offered collectible benefits such as Fortune Slips, increased rarity, and exclusive new visuals. Players could also pursue one of 1,500 Nightmare Bodies, attainable only through a high-risk devolution process requiring Dark Flame consumables. The event integrated Nightmare Parts across Axie Infinity: Homeland and Origins, enhancing gameplay with unique combat stats and cosmetic upgrades. With rewards like Mystic Axies, Origin Axies, 2,700 AXS, and exclusive in-game items, the Wings of Nightmare stands as one of Axie Core’s largest releases to date, driving engagement and fostering strategic gameplay among Lunacians.

The Fight League NFT Mint

Ronin advanced its game-focused NFT strategy with the launch of the Fighter NFTs for The Fight League. These NFTs serve as in-game avatars and offer three Core benefits: eligibility for the upcoming play-to-airdrop campaign, early access to Fight League: Survivor, and the chance to win post-launch prizes. Each Fighter NFT was available for minting for 40 RON, underscoring Ronin’s commitment to integrating value-driven NFTs into its gaming ecosystem.

Might vs. Magic Forgotten Runiverse event

Forgotten Runiverse hosted a special Halloween Might vs. Magic event (October 28-30) where players must pick either the Might or Magic side daily. They would then be summoned to Mount Umbra, where they would need to fight, collect, transport, and deposit valuable black shards. Players who were less inclined to duel on Mount Umbra had the choice of adventuring on a treasure hunt, where 100 Donuts were hidden across the map for each player to find. They reset each day and appeared in new locations for a max earning of 300 Donuts.

Ragmon NFT beta season

The renowned Ragnarok MMORPG franchise launched the Ragmon NFT beta season from Oct. 10 to Nov. 7. This event introduced players to a mobile RTS and tower-defense game built around the Ragnarok Online IP. Players could build decks, upgrade troops, and earn ZENY rewards. The beta season showcased the game’s strategic mechanics and NFT integration, reinforcing Ragnarok’s appeal and expanding its presence within blockchain gaming.

Lumiterra CBT 2 Launch

On Nov. 13, 2024, Lumiterra launched its second Closed Beta Test (CBT 2), introducing new features and expanded player access. This free-to-play MMORPG blends survival, crafting, and exploration, allowing players to specialize in combat, farming, or gathering while leveling up and enhancing equipment. Lumiterra experienced strong growth over its playtest as its collection on Mavis Market became the number one collection on the marketplace, amassing over 405,000 RON in volume over 11 days.

Kaidro Pilot NFT Raffle

On Nov. 19, 2024, Kaidro launched its Pilot NFT raffle, offering users a chance to win one of 3,990 Pilot NFTs by purchasing tickets at 125 RON each. Unsuccessful participants received refunds. Pilot NFTs represent Kaidro’s highest KDR-earning collectibles and offer exclusive in-game skins for Kaidro: Clan Battles, Pixels, and other partner games. Beyond gameplay utility, Pilot NFT holders gain access to premium synergy lock-up points and unique opportunities, including eligibility for producer credits in Kaidro’s upcoming animated series. Within the first 24 hours of the raffle going live, the raffle managed to have over 678,000 RON locked up in anticipation of the draw. This innovative raffle highlights Kaidro’s multi-platform integration and commitment to rewarding its community, further enriching Ronin’s gaming ecosystem.

Permissionless Ronin

On Nov. 22 2024, Ronin announced plans to transition to a permissionless model, with the launch slated for Q1 2025. This strategic shift marks a significant evolution from Ronin’s previous curated approach, which focused on fostering an exclusive, high-quality environment for select projects. By opening the network, Ronin aims to enhance scalability, attract a broader range of developers, and support the growth of diverse games and applications. This move reflects Ronin’s commitment to becoming a more decentralized, accessible ecosystem.

Wild Forest Community Round

On Nov. 27, 2024, Wild Forest conducted its community round for its WF token. 44 million tokens were made available for purchase at a price of $0.045 per token from the Impossible Finance Launchpad. Wild Forest raised over $2.0 million, with over 4,825 wallets participating in the presale. Wild Forest is an upcoming free-to-play real-time strategy game in which the WF token will serve as a core utility asset. Players can use WF to rank up units, mint NFTs, and purchase in-game content, including Battle Passes.

Pixels Guild Wars Season 2: Spore Sports

On Dec. 10, 2024, Pixels launched Season 2 of Guild Wars, titled Spore Sports, offering $4.0 million in PIXEL token rewards. Running until March 4, 2025, this competitive event encourages players to join guilds and engage in gameplay centered on mushroom cultivation and strategic sabotage.

Pixels Dungeon Launch

Pixels partnered with Crack and Stack to debut Pixels Dungeon, a fast-paced, dungeon-based combat game. In this two-minute PvP experience, players mine for PIXEL tokens, use TNT to defeat goblins and navigate hazards like lava while sabotaging opponents to claim treasures. This competitive venture marks a strategic shift for Pixels, leveraging an external studio to enhance gameplay and expand its ecosystem. With its high-stakes mechanics and dynamic multiplayer features, Pixels Dungeon reinforces Pixels’ commitment to providing its player base with new gaming experiences.

Kaidro Token Launch

On Dec. 18, 2024, Kaidro launched its native token, KDR, with a total supply of 100.0 million tokens and 35% allocated for community rewards. Kaidro is a multifaceted ecosystem encompassing a webcomic (Kaidro: The Awakening), an RPG (Kaidro: Clan Battles), and an animated series currently in development. While the series has yet to debut, Kaidro: Clan Battles is available for Wishlist on Steam, further positioning Kaidro as a dynamic project at the intersection of gaming and storytelling.

Ragnarok Landverse Announced

On Dec. 19, 2024, Ronin announced that Ragnarok Landverse will join their ecosystem. As a blockchain-adapted iteration of the iconic Ragnarok Online, Ragnarok Landverse is a free-to-play MMORPG that retains the franchise’s classic gameplay elements, including quest completion, monster battles, and character customization. Landverse will introduce an integrated onchain economy, where players can mine resources and earn tokens as in-game rewards.

Cambria Cores Mint

On Dec. 20, 2024, Cambria held its highly anticipated Cambria Cores mint, pricing each Core at 20 RON and selling out the entire 10,000-unit supply for 163,460 RON with a total secondary sales volume of 345,444 RON as of Dec. 31, 2024. Cambria, a competitive “risk-to-earn” 2D browser-based MMO inspired by Runescape and Ultima Online, challenges players to engage in skilling, PvP, trading, and exploration within a player-driven economy. Cambria Cores are central to the game’s ecosystem, introducing a supply-and-demand mechanic where Core holders mint in-game items—such as skins, companions, and weapons—using shards. These items are not sold directly by the game but instead by Core holders. High-demand items incentivize minting activity, with Cambria generating revenue through small marketplace fees. The game’s emphasis on risk-to-earn mechanics, where players stake onchain assets for high rewards, and its PvP-focused gameplay make it a unique addition to the Ronin ecosystem.

Cambria Cores’ reveal

After a successful minting of the Cambria Cores, Cambria announced the reveal of the NFT collection. The Cores were divided into four tiers: 8,000 (80%) normal Cores, 1,500 (15%) enhanced Cores, 400 (4%) mystic Cores, and 100 (1%) arcane Cores.

Closing Summary

Ronin Network continued its ecosystem expansion in Q4 2024, leveraging partnerships and game-centric initiatives to drive adoption. Despite slight QoQ declines in active addresses and total transactions, the network demonstrated 39.6% YoY growth in circulating market cap and a 45,467% increase in Mavis Marketplace activity. These achievements underscore the protocol’s efforts to onboard users and introduce engaging game titles.

Key milestones included the Kaidro token launch, the debut of Pixel’s Guild Wars Season 2: Spore Sports, and the release of Pixel Dungeon. The Cambria Cores NFT mint also sold out its 10,000-unit supply, while Forgotten Runiverse hosted the successful Might and Magic event. Infrastructure upgrades such as the Katana V3 upgrade and the integration of Chainlink’s CCIP demonstrate Ronin’s efforts to prepare itself for the upcoming permissionless Ronin, opening the chain further and its vision for long-term growth.

These developments reflect Ronin’s commitment to expanding its blockchain into DeFi and consumer apps and cementing its position as a leading blockchain for gaming. With ongoing innovation and a focus on accessibility, the network is primed for significant expansion in the year ahead.