Ronin moves onto Ethereum Layer 2: 10-hour migration window set for May 12
Gaming-focused blockchain Ronin — the network behind Axie Infinity — will complete its long-planned migration from an independent sidechain to an Ethereum Layer 2 on May 12. The transition will be executed via a hard fork at block 55,577,490, expected around 15:16 UTC, and will require roughly 10 hours of scheduled downtime during which all Ronin transactions will be paused (transfers, swaps, NFT trades and smart-contract calls).
What’s changing
- Architecture: Ronin is replacing its old nine-validator sidechain design with an OP Stack rollup, “plugging back into the mothership” — i.e., linking directly to Ethereum for settlement and data availability. This move means Ronin will inherit Ethereum’s security model rather than depending solely on its own validator set.
- Data availability: The network will integrate EigenDA to store transaction data off-chain while keeping it verifiable and accessible from Ethereum.
- Ecosystem alignment: Ronin will join other OP Stack chains, including Celo and Fraxtal.
Tokenomics and fees
- Inflation: RON’s annual inflation rate is set to drop dramatically — from over 20% to below 1% — under a new Proof of Distribution model.
- Fees: Marketplace fees will rise from 0.5% to 1.25%.
- Treasury: 90 million RON tokens that had been allocated for staking will be redirected to the Ronin treasury.
Operational notes
- Node operators on Ronin mainnet must upgrade to release 1.2.2 before the hard fork to remain compatible.
- During the migration window (about 10 hours), users should expect all on-chain activity to be unavailable.
Why this matters
The upgrade is a direct response to structural risks exposed by Ronin’s past sidechain model. In March 2022 Ronin endured the largest DeFi bridge exploit in history, losing $625 million in ETH and USDC when a small, centrally managed validator set was compromised. Moving to an Ethereum Layer 2 rollup reduces reliance on a tiny validator pool and leverages Ethereum’s security guarantees.
Preparatory steps
As an intermediate security move ahead of the full L2 migration, the Ronin bridge migrated to Chainlink’s cross-chain interoperability protocol in April 2025.
Bottom line
The hard fork on May 12 marks a major overhaul for Ronin: stronger security through Ethereum settlement, new data-availability tooling, and a substantially altered tokenomics and fee structure. Users and node operators should prepare for the announced downtime and ensure nodes are upgraded to release 1.2.2.
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