Web3 Games Get Faster: Ronin Integrates zkEVM

The Ronin gaming blockchain, spearheaded by Sky Mavis, has recently announced the impending launch of Ronin zkEVM, a zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) layer-2 chain, leveraging a Sky Mavis-adapted version of the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK).

Evolution of the Ronin Blockchain

This development, revealed on June 18, signifies a strategic expansion designed to support a growing number of users and to facilitate the scaling of its game studio partners.

Incorporating an enshrined Polygon ZK prover will enable developers to create their own zkEVM blockchains on Ronin without the need for independent security and consensus mechanisms.

Initially designed for the popular play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, the Ronin blockchain has evolved to underpin a wider gaming ecosystem. As per the Ronin blockchain explorer, the network currently handles 1.4 million daily active addresses.

Jeff Zirlin, co-founder at Sky Mavis, conveyed to Cointelegraph that the network is gearing up to manage an exponential increase in transactions. “With 1.5 million daily active users, Ronin is the largest gaming blockchain worldwide.

We currently facilitate up to 40 million transactions per day, but with future expansions, we aim to scale up to 400 million or even four billion transactions daily. The zkEVM is central to achieving these numbers,” Zirlin explained.

The introduction of Ronin zkEVM promises to boost scalability significantly, allowing partner studios to continue their innovations and broaden their market reach.

For instance, the blockchain game Pixels, which migrated to Ronin in October 2023, has already seen its user base swell to over 4.4 million. Zirlin also highlighted additional benefits of the new zkEVM chain, such as improved cross-chain interactions and potentially higher staking rewards.

He further noted the expansion of opportunities for third-party developers, which now includes launching their own layer-2 blockchains on Ronin, thereby enriching the gaming landscape and increasing player engagement.

Vision for a Unified Web3 Gaming Ecosystem

Trung Nguyen, CEO and co-founder of Sky Mavis, articulated a vision of a unified Web3 gaming ecosystem that supports seamless asset transfers, token swaps, and non-fungible token (NFT) trading across both layer-1 and layer-2 games.

“Ronin zkEVM is pivotal in our strategy to onboard billions of gamers. This collaboration with Polygon heralds a new era of Web3 gaming,” Nguyen stated.

Polygon Co-founder Sandeep Nailwal emphasized the transformative impact of the Polygon CDK on Ronin’s gaming ecosystem, lauding Ronin for its synthesis of groundbreaking technology, extensive distribution, and robust user engagement.

Nailwal pointed out that the Polygon CDK would further enhance Ronin’s appeal as a desirable destination for game studios.

Bitcoin’s Ascent in the NFT Market

Concurrently, the Bitcoin network has ascended in the NFT market rankings, overtaking Ronin in all-time NFT sales and securing a place among the top three blockchain networks for NFT sales, trailing only Solana and Ethereum.

According to data from NFT tracker CryptoSlam, Bitcoin-based NFTs have amassed an all-time sales volume of $4,271,928,280, narrowly edging out Ronin’s record of $4,271,675,550.

In the last 30 days alone, Bitcoin-based NFTs have generated sales of $148 million, positioning them in the second spot for monthly sales, following Ethereum’s $157 million and ahead of Solana’s $77 million.

However, despite these strong sales figures, the NFT market has witnessed a downturn, with the leading three chains each reporting at least a 40% decline in sales volume over the past month, as reported by CryptoSlam.