Arbitrum Pitches Ronin L2 Migration as Optimism Counters with Rival Proposal

Quick Take

• Arbitrum offers Ronin an Orbit chain with $RON gas, 0.1s blocks, and 750K ARB in grants.
• Optimism counters with EigenDA scalability, ZK finality, and a $5M–$7M grant package.
• Ronin’s Ethereum L2 migration is set to complete by mid-2026 with Proof-of-Distribution staking.

Ronin’s “Homecoming” to Ethereum just got more interesting. Within days of Sky Mavis announcing its shift from a sidechain to a full Ethereum-aligned L2, both Arbitrum and Optimism have stepped in with competing proposals to power Ronin’s next chapter.

Arbitrum: Gaming-First Tech Stack for Ronin

Arbitrum is pitching Ronin to become an Arbitrum Orbit chain, backed by its $200M Arbitrum Gaming Ventures (AGV) fund. The proposal emphasizes:

• Custom $RON Gas Token: Full native support without forks or workarounds.
• Speed & Performance: Block times as low as 0.1s, ~12x faster than Ronin today.
• Validator Revenue: Tools like Timeboost to generate new fee streams.
• Developer Access: With Stylus, Ronin gains support for 15M+ Rust/C++ developers in addition to Solidity.

Arbitrum also highlighted its track record: 40+ live Orbit chains, billions secured, and DAO-backed audit subsidies to lower developer costs. Its team frames the migration as “the only path aligned with Ronin’s long-term vision.”

AGV sweetened the deal with 750K ARB, currently valued at over $360K, over three years to offset Ronin’s operational costs, plus access to grants, content creator programs, and IRL gaming events.

Optimism: Web2-Quality Scale with EigenDA

Not to be outdone, Optimism submitted its own proposal alongside Eigen Labs, Boundless, and Conduit. Key offerings include:

• 100–200ms Block Times with Flashblocks, already live on Base.
• 1M TPS Scalability via EigenDA, solving data availability bottlenecks.
• ZK Finality with OP-Kailua, cutting withdrawals from days to hours.
• $RON Custom Gas natively supported in the OP Stack.
• Validator Network expansion through EigenDA staking models.

The OP Foundation also proposed a $5M–$7M grant package, including 2M OP, 750K EIGEN for DA costs, and targeted airdrops. Migration would be handled by Conduit, which has already overseen similar transitions for Celo and World Chain.

The Bigger Picture

Both proposals arrive just as Ronin confirmed it will complete its L2 migration by mid-2026, with a new Proof-of-Distribution staking model designed to reward builders over validators. Payments pilots in Southeast Asia are also set to kick off later this year.

With Arbitrum and Optimism both fighting to secure Ronin, the decision could reshape which scaling stack becomes the dominant home for crypto gaming.