Blockchain GameFi developer Sky Mavis has announced a 50% reduction in liquidity provider rewards offered by the Katana decentralized exchange platform (DEX) built on the Ronin blockchain network. According to the announcement made on February 15, the rewards will be reduced by 50% in the first phase starting from March 1, and by another 50% in the second phase, resulting in a total reduction of 75% from the current emission levels.
Significant Move by the Ronin Team
Ronin cited the increase in the average APR (annual percentage rate) in Katana liquidity pools from 20% to 70% over the past few months as the reason for the reward cut, while the total number of tokens staked in Ronin liquidity pools has not increased proportionally with the Ronin token price (RON) to balance the APR rate. Since the beginning of the year, the value of RON has increased by 59%. The Ronin team stated the following in their announcement:
“This means that the increase in reward value has not produced meaningful results in DEX liquidity provision and may have exceeded the optimal level of incentives.”
As a result of the planned liquidity provider reward cuts, Ronin expects to save approximately $5.72 million worth of 2 million RON in expenses in the first quarter of 2024 alone. The Ronin team, pointing to the fixed token supply capped at 1 billion, stated:
“Lower emission means lower inflation in the circulating supply.”
Noteworthy Details for Ronin
Currently, Katana DEX represents over 99% of the $200 million total value locked (TVL) on Ronin. Although the RON token has since regained its highest levels from 2022, the TVL has not yet reached the $1 billion levels witnessed before the North Korean attack that nearly led to its bankruptcy two years ago. However, the ecosystem has rebounded earlier this month with the much-anticipated Binance listing news.
These reward cuts in blockchain ecosystem tokens contribute significantly to the direct appreciation of the token price. Most recently, a similar move in the Cosmos ecosystem for the ATOM token resulted in a significant increase in its price.