Sky Mavis, the team behind the popular play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, is taking significant strides to enhance the scalability and performance of the Ronin blockchain with the introduction of Ronin zkEVM. This new zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) layer-2 chain is built using a Sky Mavis-modified version of the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK).
A New Era for Ronin
On June 18, Ronin announced the upcoming launch of its dedicated ZK chain designed to accommodate an increasing number of users and to support the growth of its game studio partners. This initiative aims to create a more permissive environment, thereby integrating more gaming experiences into the network.
The introduction of an enshrined Polygon ZK prover into Ronin will allow game studios to build their own zkEVM blockchains without needing to establish their own security and consensus mechanisms.
Handling Billions in Transactions
Initially developed for Axie Infinity, the Ronin blockchain now supports a broader gaming ecosystem. Data from the Ronin blockchain explorer indicates that the network has already reached 1.4 million daily active addresses. Jeff Zirlin, co-founder at Sky Mavis, emphasized the network’s future readiness to handle billions of transactions:
“At 1.5 million daily active users, Ronin is the largest gaming blockchain globally. Currently, Ronin can handle up to 40 million transactions per day, but we are preparing for a future where we handle 400 million or even four billion transactions, and zkEVM is key to this.”
Expanding the Ecosystem
The enhanced scalability provided by Ronin zkEVM is expected to foster innovation and expansion among partner studios. Notably, major blockchain games have already benefited from Ronin’s player base, with Web3 game Pixels surpassing 4.4 million users since migrating to Ronin in October 2023.
Zirlin highlighted additional benefits of the new zkEVM chain, such as a seamless cross-chain experience and potentially higher staking rewards. He noted:
“This step in our permissionless journey includes the ability for third-party builders to launch their own layer-2 blockchains on Ronin, opening opportunities for more games and players.”
Unified Gaming Ecosystem
Trung Nguyen, CEO and co-founder of Sky Mavis, expressed their vision of creating a unified gaming ecosystem that facilitates asset transfers, token swaps, and non-fungible token (NFT) trading between layer-1 and layer-2 games. He stated:
“We believe Ronin zkEVM is crucial to help us onboard billions of gamers. With Polygon’s technology, this collaboration marks a new era of Web3 gaming.”
Polygon Co-founder Sandeep Nailwal also emphasized the significance of the Polygon CDK in supporting Ronin’s gaming ecosystem, making the network more attractive to game studios.
The launch of Ronin zkEVM represents a pivotal moment for the Ronin blockchain and the broader Web3 gaming community. By leveraging advanced scalability solutions and fostering a more permissive environment for game developers, Sky Mavis and its partners are poised to significantly impact the future of blockchain gaming.
The ability to handle billions of transactions and support a unified gaming ecosystem underscores Ronin’s commitment to innovation and growth in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
