Introduction
Ronin is an Ethereum sidechain built by Sky Mavis, the developers of Axie Infinity. It supports EVM-compatible smart contracts and protocols so that developers are able to build high-performance, feature-rich blockchain projects. Ronin was specifically customized to be a long term scaling solution for Axie Infinity, meaning it’s optimized to enable virality and to provide global access to the blockchain gaming revolution. These aspects make Ronin a natural fit for collectibles, art, and, of course, gaming.
In its current state, Ronin is a Byzantine Fault Tolerant proof of authority (POA) network operated by validators. At the bootstrap of the network, carefully selected, trusted validators were predefined to secure the network. Now, validators can be added or removed if the decision is approved by the majority of currently active validators.
We currently plan to migrate Ronin consensus to dPOS to enable complete decentralization where nodes have freedom to join the network as candidate validators/miners. dPoS is a more democratic way of choosing who verifies the next block since it’s based on earned reputation as a lawful staker and not overall wealth. This allows for a more diverse group of people to participate in the process. Additionally, because there are a limited number of validators, dPoS allows the network to reach consensus more quickly.
Ronin means “a samurai without a master,” and this idea mirrors the motivation behind Ronin Network’s creation: a desire to take our product’s destiny into our own hands.
What is a Blockchain?
Simply put, Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger for recording transactions, tracking assets, and building trust.
What is a Sidechain?
Think of a Sidechain as a clone of a 'parent' blockchain, supporting the transfer of assets to and from the main chain. It is simply an alternative to the parent chain ; it has its own blockspace and mechanism of creating blocks (consensus mechanism). Connecting a sidechain to a parent chain involves setting up a method of moving assets between the chains. This is often done through a bridge.