Ronin is approaching its shift to Ethereum Layer 2, and the token has responded. RON is up 30% over the past 30 days as the network prepares for a major architectural change scheduled for May 12 at around 18:16 Turkish time, triggered by a hard fork at block 55,577,490.
During the upgrade window, all on-chain transfers, token swaps, and smart contract interactions will be paused. Games running on Ronin will also stop temporarily. The team has urged players and developers to complete any required transactions before maintenance begins.
Hard fork will activate the Layer 2 transition
Ronin first announced the Layer 2 plan in April. The network was originally built as a fast and low-cost blockchain infrastructure for Axie Infinity, the game that brought millions of users into crypto and helped Ronin become a major name in blockchain gaming.
That earlier design also came with risks. As a standalone sidechain, Ronin suffered a major cyberattack in mid-2022, an incident described in the source material as one of the largest losses ever tied to a DeFi bridge exploit. The new setup is intended to tighten Ronin’s connection to Ethereum and improve resistance to external threats.
OP Stack and EigenDA reshape the network model
Ronin said the move to OP Stack will let it use Ethereum’s security framework while preserving throughput. The network also plans to use EigenDA to improve data availability and support greater scalability. This marks a clear break from its previous standalone sidechain structure.
The economic design is changing too. Around 90 million RON that had been reserved for staking rewards will be redirected to the treasury. Marketplace commission will rise from 0.5% to 1.25%. According to the company, these changes are meant to create more sustainable revenue for the community.
Reward system shifts away from passive staking
After the migration, Ronin plans to introduce a new incentive model called Proof of Distribution. The mechanism will reward developers who actively contribute to the network, moving incentives away from passive staking and toward participation-based distribution. Company projections say this could cut RON’s annual inflation rate from above 20% to below 1%.
CryptoAppsy data cited in the report shows RON trading near $0.11, with a market capitalization of about $89.5 million. The token remains below its yearly high, but migration expectations have lifted sentiment and drawn attention to how the supply structure may change once the new model goes live.