Ronin, the gaming blockchain developed by Sky Mavis, the company behind Axie Infinity, has successfully maintained the momentum of its token (RON) rally despite facing challenges during its listing on crypto exchange Binance.
On February 5th, the price of Ronin tokens experienced significant volatility, dropping over 40% to $2.52 after a 28% increase the previous week. As of now, RON is trading at $2.63.
Prior to the listing, insiders accumulated RON tokens based on information leaked from Binance, which led to a decrease in price once the token was officially listed.
In response to these events, Yi He, co-founder of Binance, announced that the exchange would implement stricter internal controls to prevent information leaks and cancel listings if any information is leaked after the announcement.
Aleksander Larsen, co-founder of Sky Mavis, expressed that Ronin has become one of the most popular gaming chains and the listing on Binance was eagerly anticipated. The project aims to partner with 16 studios and games by 2024 and plans to open the Ronin network for game deployment.
Despite a recovery in token price since reaching a low of $0.45 in October 2023, the total value locked (TVL) on Ronin remains slow. In 2022, the Ronin Bridge was exploited by North Korean hackers in a $600 million heist. Along with the overall decline in cryptocurrency prices, Ronin’s TVL decreased from nearly $1.5 billion at the start of 2022 to less than $50 million by the end of the year. Currently, the TVL stands at $156 million, with over 99% of locked funds contributed by the native decentralized exchange, Katana.
Larsen emphasized that Ronin, as a gaming-focused blockchain, prioritizes its competition with DeFi chains for TVL. The native DEX, Katana, provides sufficient liquidity for trading between players, and the LP rewards ensure its functionality.
Since the 2022 heist, Ronin has taken significant measures to enhance user security. The entire architecture has undergone a comprehensive review and optimization, with security experts auditing the code. Additionally, a circuit breaker system has been implemented to limit daily withdrawals, and the protocol’s bridge smart contract has been updated to allow validators to set withdrawal limits. Larsen expressed confidence in Ronin’s resilience. Although some of the stolen funds have been recovered, the majority remains missing.
In related news, Binance is offering a $5 million reward for information related to the RON token listing, which has sparked a heated debate.