Ronin Completes Ethereum Migration, Slashes Token Emissions by 9x

In Brief:

• Ronin completed its migration from a sovereign Layer 1 to an Ethereum Layer 2 built on the OP Stack, with Conduit leading what the team called the largest state migration in blockchain history.
• RON emissions dropped from 45 million RON per year to 5 million RON, a 9x reduction, representing roughly 1.2% annual inflation. All future emissions flow to builders through a new Proof of Distribution reward system.
• The Ronin Treasury added three new revenue streams: 90 million RON previously earmarked for staking, net sequencer profits, and a 2.5x increase in marketplace fee capture from 0.5% to 1.25%.

Ronin completed its migration to Ethereum today, May 13, shifting from a standalone sidechain to a Layer 2 on the OP Stack. The network is live and operational, with downtime already concluded.

Conduit led the technical work, preserving RON as the gas token with minimal downtime. The team described it as the largest state migration in history, moving Ronin from a sovereign L1 to a full OP Stack chain with bespoke tooling.

Emissions overhaul

The migration carried a significant tokenomics restructure. RON emissions fell from 45 million per year to 5 million, a 9x reduction and the lowest rate in Ronin’s history. Annual inflation sits at approximately 1.2%.

All future emissions route through Proof of Distribution, a merit-based system that rewards builders based on their contributions to the ecosystem. The Ronin Ecosystem team selected specific metrics for reward calculations that it said correlated strongest with RON’s market cap.

Reward periods run in monthly seasons. Craft World, one of the first builders to register, may earn as much as 40,000 RON per month from a total reward pool of 410,000 RON per month, according to internal estimates. Builders who haven’t registered their smart contracts don’t earn rewards.

Treasury revenue

The Ronin Treasury picked up three new revenue streams: the remaining 90 million RON previously set aside for staking rewards, net sequencer profits (total gas revenue minus blob fees and expenses) and 1.25% of all Ronin Marketplace fees, up 2.5x from the previous 0.5%.

There is currently no way for individual RON holders to stake and earn rewards. All rewards now flow directly to builders.

What changes for users

Ronin works the same as before. RON remains the gas token. Transaction speeds are faster and security is backed by Ethereum. Liquidity pools on Katana are unaffected. AXS, SLP, PIXEL and other Ronin-native tokens require no action from holders.

Standard validators will receive their 250,000+ RON deposits directly to their wallets. Governing validators will need to participate in a vote to renounce their roles post-migration.

Users holding wRON on Coinbase will need to bridge it from Ronin to Ethereum after the migration.

Ethereum context

The team framed the move as aligning with the Ethereum Foundation’s updated vision for Layer 2 chains, which shifted emphasis from pure scaling to differentiation and customization. Ronin positioned itself as bringing its gaming distribution network, including Axie Infinity, Pixels, Cambria, Fableborne and Moku: Grand Arena, to the second-largest blockchain by market cap.

Ronin has processed approximately $4.2 billion in revenue through Axie Infinity to date. The chain launched as an Ethereum sidechain in 2021 with Axie as its sole game.