Ronin’s $4M Buyback: Rebuilding Trust Post-Hack, Fighting User Decline

Ronin Network, a blockchain platform primarily supporting the Axie Infinity game ecosystem, has announced a token buyback program aimed at reducing the circulating supply of its native RON token. The initiative, set to begin on September 29, 2025, involves the use of $4 million in treasury reserves—comprising 895 ETH and 650,000 USDC—to repurchase RON from the open market. The buyback is expected to cover approximately 1.3–2% of the current circulating supply, equivalent to around 10 million RON tokens Ronin Network Announces Major Buyback Plan – RON Price …^[1]. The move signals the project’s confidence in the token’s long-term value and its commitment to aligning with ecosystem stakeholders as the platform evolves into a full-fledged Ethereum layer-2 solution .

The buyback follows a period of market volatility and a broader decline in the crypto sector. Immediately after the announcement, RON’s price surged 15% to $0.56, but it later retreated to below $0.50 as broader market pressures, including a weakening Bitcoin price, offset initial gains Ronin Network Announces Major Buyback Plan – RON Price …^[1]. Analysts attribute the short-term price response to a mix of internal optimism and external macroeconomic headwinds. Hydraze, a prominent crypto analyst, noted that buybacks often drive token value when paired with strong fundamentals, particularly in projects with consistent revenue streams Ronin Network Announces Major Buyback Plan – RON Price …^[1]. However, the long-term success of the buyback hinges on broader adoption metrics, which currently remain under pressure.

Ronin’s ecosystem is heavily reliant on Axie Infinity, which accounts for 70% of network activity. Data from ActivePlayer shows that Axie Infinity’s monthly active users have plummeted from over 2.5 million in early 2022 to fewer than 200,000 as of 2025. Similarly, Ronin’s active addresses have declined from over 2 million in July 2024 to 300,000 Ronin Network Announces Major Buyback Plan – RON Price …^[1]. These trends highlight the challenge of sustaining user growth in a competitive gaming market. While the buyback aims to stabilize RON’s value, analysts emphasize that renewed user acquisition and diversification of use cases—such as DeFi or NFT marketplaces—will be critical for long-term price resilience .

The buyback program is part of a broader strategy to reposition Ronin as a layer-2 network on Ethereum. In August 2025, the team announced its “homecoming” to Ethereum, citing the network’s growing dominance in the Web3 gaming sector. The shift follows the March 2022 Ronin Bridge hack, which resulted in a $600 million loss and a significant decline in total value locked (TVL). TVL on Ronin has fallen from $1.2 billion in early 2022 to $56 million, according to DefiLlama . The buyback is intended to rebuild trust by demonstrating fiscal discipline and a commitment to tokenholder value.

Industry comparisons show that buybacks are increasingly common in the crypto space. Projects like World Liberty Financial, Pump.fun, Hyperliquid, and Aave have launched similar initiatives to bolster token prices. However, critics caution that buybacks alone cannot offset structural challenges such as low user growth or high income inequality in token distribution 2025 Stock Buyback Announcements^[2]. Ronin’s co-founder described the buyback as “the first bullet in the chamber,” signaling a multi-phase strategy to strengthen the ecosystem Ronin Network Announces Major Buyback Plan – RON Price …^[1]. The success of this approach will depend on whether the buyback is paired with measurable progress in user onboarding and infrastructure development.