Crypto of the Week: Axie Infinity (AXS)

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August 06 2021
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Is Axie Infinity the new CryptoKitties?

Axie Infinity Shards are the latest cryptocurrency to tangle together the blockchain and online gaming.

Here’s what you need to know about the AXS token before you put your money into it.

What is Axie Infinity?

Axie Infinity is an online game where players trade, collect and battle Pokemon-style monsters against one another, with the twist being that ownership of these creatures (called Axies) is tied to the ethereum blockchain.

Each Axie is a one-of-a-kind, non-fungible token that can be ‘bred’ with other Axies to produce new Axies, all of which can be bought by and sold to other players.

In many respects, Axie Infinity is similar to previous blockchain-based titles like CryptoKitties and ZED. Where networks like ethereum are focused on attracting developers, Axie Infinity has a more consumer bent to it.

Players earn AXS tokens through playing the game. They can then use those to buy and sell Axies via the Axie NFT marketplace.

Who made the Axie Infinity Shard (AXS) token?

The Axie Infinity Shard token was made by the game developers behind the Axie Infinity online game.

This team is said to be around 25 or so people, including former competitive gamer Aleksander Larsen.

What is the AXS token used for?

As mentioned, the other major use of the AXS token is as a currency for buying and selling Axies.

However, the AXS token is also a governance token with the Axie Infinity ecosystem. Like other governance tokens, this means it is typically used to vote on network proposals.

The developer of the AXS token has said that they’ll also soon introduce staking into the mix, allowing token holders to lock-in their coins for a period of time and earn interest on their investment.

However, unlike other staking mechanisms, AXS token-holders will still have to participate in the game or governance decisions to be eligible for the rewards.

In some ways, the AXS token is distinguished from many other cryptocurrencies in that the driver for their value is relatively straightforward and transparent to investors who might not be familiar with the fundamentals of the crypto space.

At the simplest level: the more people playing the Axie Infinity online game, the greater the demand for the token and the higher the price is likely to rise. On the other hand, a fall in interest or participation could easily spiral into a downturn for the AXS token.

Over the past year, the value of the AXS token has risen from around US$0.6 to US$43 per unit.

One report from Token Terminal suggested that the game raked in around $207 million in revenue over the course of July, with more than 1 million active players.

As put by Arcane Research, the popularity of the AXS token suggests that “the gaming token craze is definitely still present”.

That being said, it’s unclear how much of the value here will stick around for long-term investors in the token.

“One could argue that the prices are getting a bit out of hand, given how traditional gaming entities such as Ubisoft currently trade at a valuation of $7.9 billion,” their most recent report noted.

How much is the Axie Infinity Shard (AXS) token worth?

As of 5 August 2021, AXS is priced at US$43.86 per unit.

Tallied up at that price, AXS has a market cap of approximately US$2.4 billion.

For comparison, bitcoin (BTC) currently has a market cap of around US$750 billion, while ether (ETH) sits in second place at US$260 billion.

Where can you buy the Axie Infinity Shard (AXS) crypto?

You can buy Axie Infinity Shard (AXS) tokens via a number of mainstream spot exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. These include:

Binance
Huobi Global
Kraken
Gate.iO
OKEx
Poloniex
UIniswap
Crypto.com
FTX

About the author

Fergus is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He likes to write about money, markets, how innovation is changing the financial landscape and how younger consumers can achieve their goals in unpredictable times.

About the author

Fergus is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He likes to write about money, markets, how innovation is changing the financial landscape and how younger consumers can achieve their goals in unpredictable times.

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