XAI: The Most Promising Gaming Layer3 on Arbitrum, Binance's Latest Launchpool Project
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
XAI: The Most Promising Gaming Layer3 on Arbitrum, Binance's Latest Launchpool Project
Arbitrum's exploration in the Layer 3 direction.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Joyce
On January 3, Binance launched XAI as the 43rd project on its Launchpool platform, opening yield farming pools for BNB, FDUSD, and TUSD. Mining began on January 5 at 00:00 UTC. XAI is scheduled to list on Binance on January 9, 2024, at 10:00 UTC, with trading pairs XAI/BTC, XAI/USDT, XAI/BNB, XAI/FDUSD, XAI/TUSD, and XAI/TRY going live simultaneously.
Xai (XAI) is a blockchain network built on Arbitrum, specifically designed to meet the demands of large-scale Web3 gaming, developed by Offchain Labs. As a blockchain tailored for on-chain gaming, what distinguishes Xai from other networks? How is its gaming ecosystem developing? BlockBeats explores these questions in this article.
Xai’s Technical Features: A Layer3 Solution
Xai leverages the Arbitrum Nitro technology stack and operates as a permissionless Orbit chain—an Orbit Chain being a Layer3 solution built atop Arbitrum's Layer2, introduced in June 2023. These Orbit Chains can choose to settle on one of three existing Arbitrum Layer2 chains: Arbitrum One, Arbitrum Nova, or Arbitrum Goerli.
For game development teams, high gas fees on Ethereum pose a significant constraint on the vitality of gaming ecosystems—a challenge that has driven the emergence of specialized Layer2 solutions like Ronin and TreasureDAO. While these networks effectively reduce in-game transaction costs and improve user experience, they often come at a substantial opportunity cost: losing access to the vast, active ecosystems of broader-usecase networks.
Layer3 may offer a promising alternative. On June 22, 2023, Offchain Labs released tools enabling the deployment of Arbitrum Orbit Chains. These Layer3 chains benefit from flexible data availability options: users can choose between Rollup mode, which posts all transaction data on-chain, or Anytrust, which uses a Data Availability Committee (DAC) to avoid full on-chain data publication—reducing costs at the expense of slightly lower security guarantees.
Orbit Chains offer several advantages: streamlined chain deployment, interoperability with the wider Arbitrum ecosystem, instant upgrades via Nitro, and EVM+ compatibility through Stylus—supporting smart contracts written in Rust, C, and C++ running on WASM virtual machines. Like all chains within the Arbitrum ecosystem, both Arbitrum Rollups and Anytrust-based Orbit Chains are built on the Nitro framework. Developers can freely customize and launch their own Orbit Chains, provided they settle transactions on an Arbitrum Layer2; otherwise, special authorization from Offchain Labs or the Arbitrum DAO is required.
Unlike most self-managed Orbit chains, Xai benefits from direct technical support from Offchain Labs—a unique advantage not available to other chains. This makes Xai a strategically important component within the Arbitrum ecosystem’s gaming roadmap.
XAI, esXAI, and Tokenomics
Xai features its own native gas token, "XAI," which serves dual roles on the Xai blockchain. First, it functions as the designated gas token, facilitating transactions across the network. Second, XAI tokens are rewarded to validators for their role in securing the network. Additionally, XAI will serve as the primary token within the gaming ecosystem, acting as a medium of exchange for games and in-game items.
The Xai network uses both XAI and esXAI (escrowed XAI) to maintain ecosystem balance. XAI is fully transferable, while esXAI is non-transferable once converted. The primary purpose of esXAI is staking to gain various benefits, such as rewards for Sentry node operators and associated privileges.
The esXAI staking mechanism allows node operators to freely allocate their staked esXAI across three distinct accounts:
-
Yield Account: Node operators who stake esXAI here earn additional esXAI rewards over time.
-
Culture Account: By staking esXAI, node operators gain access to exclusive gaming events and NFTs related to games launched on the Xai blockchain.
-
Governance Account: Staking enables node operators to participate in DAO governance, including proposing how DAO/foundation funds should be used.
Users can convert between XAI and esXAI based on their needs, subject to different rules depending on direction. Converting XAI to esXAI is immediate, penalty-free, and always occurs at a 1:1 ratio. Converting esXAI back to XAI involves a lock-up period whose duration is selectable by the user—the longer the chosen unlock time, the higher the conversion rate. The Xai Foundation may retain up to 50% of potentially burnable esXAI to support network operations. When esXAI is converted to XAI, all tokens are automatically allocated to the Yield Account, but only 50% of their value is immediately accessible.
The combined maximum supply of XAI and esXAI is capped at 2.5 billion tokens. Initial distribution of XAI is as follows:
-
Team: 20% of total supply allocated to core team and early contributors. Unlocking begins 6 months after TGE, linearly over 36 months, completed in 42 months.
-
Investors: Early investors received 22.41% of total supply. Unlocking begins 6 months after TGE, linearly over 24 months, completed in 30 months.
-
Ecosystem: 2% allocated to market makers, fully unlocked at TGE. Another 5.5% reserved for ecosystem development, unlocking 6 months after TGE over 36 months, completed in 42 months.
Xai’s Gaming Ecosystem
Xai focuses on reducing gas costs, enhancing network stability, enabling creative game design, simplifying complex systems, and maximizing the potential of blockchain technology—all while minimizing user wallet interactions. This not only makes blockchain gaming more accessible but also provides developers with a platform where creativity can truly flourish.
Unlike some blockchain platforms that prioritize quantity over quality, flooding the market with low-quality games, Xai supports diverse game genres and mechanics. It encourages developers to focus on delivering engaging player experiences rather than relying solely on token incentives. Moreover, complex game and economic systems have historically been barriers to mainstream adoption. To address this, the Xai Foundation actively supports efforts to simplify game design, ensuring players can easily grasp mechanics and enjoy the gameplay.
In terms of wallet experience, Xai has partnered with Thirdweb to seamlessly integrate wallet management into the backend of gaming experiences.
Currently, Xai has established partnerships with five game teams. Among them, Final Form, developed by Ex Populus, will be the first game deployed on the Xai blockchain and published by the Xai Foundation. In Final Form, players engage in high-frequency deck-building combat combined with Rogue-Lite mechanics. Using free limited-edition trading cards, temporary raider cards, mutants, and relics, players build increasingly powerful battle decks. Top performers dominate auto-battles and earn rewards, accelerating the evolution of their limited-edition cards from common to legendary rarity—while reducing global supply each time a card burns during evolution.
As card supply decreases and rarity increases, collectors and traders will find their cards becoming more valuable, desirable, and in-demand as the ecosystem evolves. Each set of limited-edition cards is co-created with renowned artists, celebrities, and athletes—including Oscar-nominated Calabash and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Legendary cardholders will join the Pioneer League and qualify for exclusive rewards.
Team and Partnerships
According to Xai’s official website, there is no centralized team behind the Xai ecosystem. Instead, it was initiated by several key entities, each playing a distinct role. As the project grows, more organizations are expected to join in supporting the ecosystem.
Xai Foundation
The Xai Foundation acts as the custodian of the blockchain infrastructure that serves as the foundation for games developed by game studios deploying on the chain. It is also responsible for issuing and managing the native token of the Xai network, “XAI.”
Responsibilities of the Xai Foundation include defining the strategic direction of the blockchain network and supporting blockchain game development by Ex Populus. This ensures network stability and security, enabling seamless gameplay experiences. The foundation oversees the creation and distribution of XAI tokens, governs token usage, and ensures fair and transparent allocation. Additionally, the Xai Foundation is dedicated to fostering a supportive and inclusive community around blockchain gaming. It will enable gradual community participation in network governance, ensuring major decisions are made collectively.
Ex Populus
Ex Populus is a U.S.-based lab entity and the first developer to deploy games on the Xai blockchain. It leads research, development, and innovation in blockchain gaming. A reputable game development studio, Ex Populus is led by industry veterans from renowned companies such as Pixar, Ubisoft, Activision, and Blizzard. The team is currently developing two highly anticipated titles: Final Form and LAMOverse.
Operating under the guidance of the Xai Foundation, Ex Populus handles game development, offering players unique opportunities to own, trade, and monetize in-game assets. Ex Populus also actively promotes its games and engages with the gaming community to drive growth and adoption.
Offchain Labs
Working under the direction of the Xai Foundation, Offchain Labs—the core development team behind the original Arbitrum blockchain—is a key strategic technology partner for the Xai blockchain project, focusing on the development and ongoing technical support of the Xai network. The Xai blockchain was developed by Offchain Labs to solve specific challenges encountered by Ex Populus when attempting to deploy games on other blockchains.
Additionally, Offchain Labs will provide continuous marketing support for the Xai network and ecosystem.
Other Core Contributors
Xai boasts a diverse group of core contributors, with the list expected to grow as the ecosystem expands. Current major contributors include Thirdweb and Paima Studios. Thirdweb specializes in developing custom account abstraction technologies and payment systems tailored for games and decentralized applications (dApps) deployed on the Xai platform. Paima Studios focuses on building top-tier Web3 games for the Xai blockchain. Many other groups—including game developers, infrastructure providers, and various types of contributors—will be announced soon and added to this growing list.
On December 29, Xai distributed its first season airdrop, with snapshots already taken for Xai Odyssey Legends and Pioneers, as well as Sentry Node Key holders.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
BlockBeats
