Sky Mavis, the developer behind the breakthrough play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, has launched Katana — the first decentralized exchange (DEX) built on its custom Ethereum sidechain Ronin. Katana will support all tokens used in Sky Mavis products, including SLP and AXS, allowing users to earn rewards by providing liquidity.
Katana DEX Goes Live
Ronin was designed to bypass Ethereum's high Layer 1 fees. With Katana, users can swap tokens directly on the sidechain and access a new yield-earning mechanism. The DEX operates with liquidity pools; the first available pairs are AXS/ETH and SLP/ETH, each receiving 50% of initial reward distribution.
A notable feature is the inclusion of USDC as a supported asset, enabling Axie Infinity players to park their earnings in a stablecoin and avoid volatility.
Introduction of RON Token
Katana also introduces a shift in Ronin's economics. Previously, transactions on Ronin were free with a daily quota of 100 free transactions per user. Going forward, the native token RON will be required as gas for transactions. Additionally, RON will be distributed as rewards for staking liquidity in Katana, creating the primary incentive for participation. Sky Mavis stated that more details about RON would be released soon.
Market Reaction
Following the Katana announcement, both AXS and SLP experienced significant price increases. AXS hovered around $140 on November 3 and peaked at nearly $160 on November 4. Meanwhile, SLP — the wage token for Axie players — surged from $0.06 to a high of $0.11, nearly doubling in a single day. This rally underscores the market's optimism toward the DeFi expansion of the Ronin ecosystem.
With Katana live, Ronin evolves from a simple gaming transaction network into a comprehensive decentralized finance platform, providing a strong foundation for Axie Infinity's continued growth.