XAI: From Arbitrum Orbit L3 to the Revolutionary of Blockchain Gaming
On January 3, 2024, Binance announced its latest Launchpool project – XAI. According to the official website, XAI is a blockchain gaming public chain developed for mass adoption.
But what distinguishes this newcomer, XAI, from other gaming public chains and makes it eligible for the first launch on Binance? The question is answered when one reads, "Xai is developed by Offchain Labs leveraging Arbitrum technology."
Indeed, XAI is the Arbitrum Orbit L3 public chain developed with the direct assistance of Offchain Labs, the development team behind Arbitrum.
Technology Infrastructure
To comprehend XAI’s technological foundation, one must understand the Arbitrum Orbit L3 public chain.
In a nutshell, the Arbitrum Orbit is an L3 upgrade based on the Arbitrum L2 Rollup, a scalability solution for the settlement layer. It allows developers to launch chains in a single click.
XAI is an Orbit L3 chain built on Arbitrum Nitro. Arbitrum Nitro vastly enhances Ethereum compatibility by compiling the core of Geth directly via a client software base layer.
It also includes built-in BOLD and Stylus modules. BOLD facilitates unlicensed fraud proofs to significantly reduce withdrawal delays. Stylus supports multi-language development, accelerating efficiency and enabling seamless migration from other chains to Arbitrum.
Tokenomics
Arbitrum Orbit grants L3 public chains considerable freedom, including consensus mechanism, governance model, gas fee token selection, and economic model.
XAI has been able to design its unique token economic model by choosing the dual-token model similar to GMX's esToken. The native token XAI, along with the staked version esXAI, forms a deflationary dual-token system where exchange ratio changes over time.
XAI, as a governance token and Gas token, sustains the network operations; esXAI, as a reward token, attracts node operators through a staking mechanism to provide basic infrastructure for the ecosystem.
Token Allocation
XAI has a total supply of 2.5 billion, with the initial distribution as follows:
- Team and Early Contributors: 20% of the tokens will be progressively unlocked over 42 months.
- Investors: 22.41% of the tokens will be unlocked over 30 months.
- Ecosystem: 2% will be immediately unlocked for market making, and 5.5% will be unlocked over 42 months for ecosystem development.
- Staking Rewards: 50.1% will be issued as esXAI for reward exchanges, and the XAI conversion ratio will change over the unlock period.
Gaming Ecosystem
Most imperative to a gaming public chain is the gaming ecosystem. According to the official website, five games are currently underway; the first to be released will be the card battle game Final Form.
Final Form offers an immersive experience combining card collection, Roguelite, and battle elements. Developed by studio Ex Populus, it also partners with XAI, providing game development services under the foundation's guidance.
Strategic Positioning
With Arbitrum's choice to venture into the third-layer blockchain for the gaming vertical in the face of Optimism's aggressive expansion into the OP Stack Layer 2 market, XAI's launch brings a corner of the fierce competition into sharp relief.
This highly customized strategy significantly enhances performance and better satisfies gaming users' needs.
Final Thoughts
As the time for the Cancun upgrade is approaching, many tokens in ETH Rollup ecosystem have begun to rise, and the so-called stablecoin $Arb has quietly doubled. Being Arbitrum's son, XAI, dressed in Binance's yellow robe, has gain significant worth.
Fueled with the innovative technology, and the design of economic mechanisms and applications, XAI is emerging as a rising star in the blockchain game industry.
The potential comparison of its valuation with Myria and Gala speaks volumes. Only high-quality game studios' attraction will validate Arbitrum's competitive strength in Layer 2 market and make users reap the benefits of more convenient and smooth gaming experience.
