Axie Infinity is a non-expendable token-based online video game developed by the Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis. It has a native economy that uses an ERC-20 cryptocurrency (based on Ethereum) as its main token. It’s called AXS. Players can collect and mint NFTs, which represent digital pets known as Axies.

The game is competitive and uses an “idle battle” system most commonly found in games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Idle Heroes. The game is packed with creatures called Axies, which players can collect as customizable pets. Like other metaverse style games, Axie Infinity has an in-game economy where it is possible to buy, sell and trade resources obtained in the game. Progression is measured by the size of the player’s collection. A bit like capitalism in the 80s, but fluffier and without a flock of seagulls.

Anxie Infinity’s token currency is called the Axie Infinity Shard (AXS).

The game uses a ‘pay to win’ model where participants pay initial costs and then start earning AXS through gameplay. The game offers users the opportunity to cash out every two weeks. The model is similar to gambling and, in general, with an unstable market that is highly dependent on the constant addition of new players.

As of February 2020, it was estimated that the average player had to pay an entry fee of around $400 to participate. By August 2020, it had fallen to $207. Now, as of March 2022, it is suggested that the minimum price of an Axie has been reduced to $20.

In the Philippines, the high cost of entry led to the development of gaming guilds, which offer assets for rent to attract new players. As of June 2021, some people in the Philippines started using the game as their main source of income even though the earnings rates for playing the game fell below the national minimum wage in September 2021. It also doesn’t help that the finance department there began to consider Axie-made cash as taxable, noting that the SEC and BSP may want to consider their cryptocurrency as currency or security. That could complicate things for Axies and their owners in the future.

Still, the question remains:

What is AXS?

If you like, you can take a look at the White paper.

As stated above, it is an ERC-20 coin, which means that it is a fungible coin produced and executed on the Ethereum blockchain.

Like most other big-name metaverse platforms, Axie players can also buy land and other assets like NFTs. The largest virtual land record to date is US$2.3 million set in November 2021.

AXS is also a government currency, which means you can vote to change and influence the way the game works. You can also earn coins by playing games, gambling and participating in the government.

All of Axie’s art assets and data can be accessed by third parties, giving developers in the community the opportunity to create their own in-universe tools. Today, while still relatively new, Axie still ranks as the #1 Ethereum-based game by daily, weekly and monthly active users and players have lost over 1 million ETH (approximately $3 billion USD) so far in the game.

security issues

The Axie Infinity blockchain was hacked in April 2022 to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of crypto. Sky Mavis, the company behind Axie Infinity, realized it had been attacked when a user was unable to make a withdrawal six days after the breach occurred, and the company immediately froze transactions on the compromised Ronin Network bridge.

Now the company has announced that it has received $150 million in investments that will be used to ensure that everyone who was hacked in what they call the Ronin Validator Hack will be reimbursed. Now they are releasing a new version of the game – Axie Infinity: Origin.

AXS is currently trading at $52.02 with a market capitalization of $4,024,571,002 and currently has 37^the in size by market capitalization.

You can buy Axies on Binace and Uniswap.

—Joseph Morton