In brief
- Axie Infinitys Ronin sidechain for Ethereum now has its own decentralized exchange called Katana.
- Katana lets users swap tokens without bridging to Ethereum. It also has a new ecosystem token of its own called RON.
Ethereum-based play-to-earn game Axie Infinity exploded in popularity this summer following the launch of Ronin, a custom sidechain that enabled speedy, low-cost transactions. Now Ronin has picked up added utility with the rollout of its own decentralized exchange (DEX), and the games tokens are surging in price today.
Launched early this morning, Katana is a DEX that runs natively on Ronin, making it easier for Axie Infinity players to swap tokens directly on the sidechain itself. That means that players dont have to bridge tokens to Ethereum first, for example, which introduces additional fees and hassle to the process.
With the initial version of Katana, players can swap Axie Infinitys Smooth Love Potion (SLP) reward tokens and AXS governance tokens (those that grant voting rights to holders), along with Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) and the USDC dollar-pegged stablecoin. Because its a decentralized exchange, transactions take place via user-backed liquidity pools with no centralized authority or middleman.
Sky Mavis, the developer of Axie Infinity, has also launched a new RON ecosystem token that will be used for Ronin transactions. Currently, users are allowed 100 free Ronin transactions per day, but eventually the network will transition to using RON for Ronin fees. Users can stake tokens into SLP/ETH or AXS/ETH pools on Katana to provide liquidity and earn rewards.
According to a post from Sky Mavis, Katana is designed to simplify the process of moving funds around the Axie ecosystem and minimize fees, as well as increase liquidity for assets and reduce our reliance on other parties by becoming the largest exchange for our ecosystems tokens.
Axies SLP token has pumped significantly since Katanas launch this morning, and is currently up 74% to a price of nearly $0.12 per token, per CoinGecko. SLP is key to the monster battling games play-to-earn model, as users earn token rewards for competing against other players online and can swap the tokens for other cryptocurrencies.
The games AXS governance token is also up today, rising 10% over the last 24 hours to a current price above $150. AXS set an all-time high of $162 less than a week ago, and has skyrocketed over the course of 2021, rising from a price of under $0.60 on January 1.
Axie Infinity has rapidly become the most prominent blockchain game on the market, generating more than $2.8 billion worth of NFT trading volume to date, per CryptoSlam. An NFT acts like a deed of ownership for a provably scarce digital item, and in Axie Infinity, NFTs represent one-of-a-kind cartoonish monsters, customizable land plots, and other items.
Sky Mavis is working on a number of enhancements to Axie Infinity, including improvements to the battle system, land-based gameplay, and an expanded play-to-earn rewards system thats planned to award billions of dollars worth of AXS to players
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