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Axie Infinity

    AXIE
    Axie Infinity is a game universe filled with fascinating creatures, Axies, that players can collect as pets. Players aim to battle, breed, collect, raise, and build kingdoms for their Axies. The universe has a player-owned economy where players can truly own, buy, sell, and trade resources they earn in the game through skilled-gameplay and contributions to the ecosystem.


    All art assets and Axie genetic data can be easily accessed by 3rd parties, allowing community developers to build their own tools and experiences in the Axie Infinity universe. While still in early access, Axie is ranked the #1 Ethereum game by daily, weekly, and monthly active users. Players have spent over 1M ETH (3B+ USD) so far to progress in the game.

    Decentralized Organization

    Through AXS, Axie Infinity will gradually evolve into a community-owned Decentralized Organization
    This process occurs as AXS is distributed among players and stakers, with the Sky Mavis ownership becoming less concentrated over time.
    The Sky Mavis team will be able to vote with the locked Play to Earn and Staking rewards allocations. This will prevent hostile actors from disrupting the ecosystem during the early and crucial phases of development. We estimate that Sky Mavis will no longer have the Majority vote by October 2023.

    The road to becoming a Decentralized Organization
    Version 0 – October, 2020 / Token generation event
    No voting possible
    Version 1 First half 2021 / Staking dashboard released
    AXS holders can stake their tokens through the staking dashboard and participate in governance votes brought forward by the Sky Mavis team.
    These votes will revolve around which teams should receive funding from the ecosystem fund, and how the Community treasury should be distributed.
    Version 2 – Early 2022
    More on-chain votes about smaller issues.
    Potentially changing the way votes are being counted from 1 token 1 vote to Quadratic voting.
    Version 3 – September 2023 / Decentralized Organization
    AXS holders determine which governance framework should be used and how much should be voted on. Some decisions will not be up for debate such as token supply which is iron-clad in smart contracts.
    Potential things that can be voted on:
    • Should Axie Infinity Limited continue to pay Sky Mavis to develop Axie Infinity?
    • Should Axie Infinity use the marketplace created by Sky Mavis?
    • How should the Community Treasury be used to reward AXS holders and the broader Axie community?

    Non-fungible token (NFT) crypto collectibles like artwork and videos exploded in popularity in early 2021, but several blockchain-based video games had already been building in the space before most people took notice.

    When NFTs hit the mainstream, the promising crypto game Axie Infinity by indie studio Sky Mavis took off. And when the wider NFT market cooled a bit after all of that hype… well, Axie Infinity got even bigger.

    Axie Infinity is inspired by Nintendo’s beloved Pokémon series, and sees you collect and pit adorable monsters against each other in cartoonish combat. Getting started isn’t simple or cheap, however, and there’s a vastly larger upfront investment needed than your average PlayStation or Xbox game. The upside, however, is that you own your Axie NFTs and can resell them, plus its “play-to-earn” approach rewards you with crypto tokens that can be exchanged for money.

    It’s a bold new vision for gaming—and it’s catching on. Here’s how to get started.

    Axie Infinity is a monster-battling game where you pit teams of cute monsters called Axies against each other in battles.

    Axie Infinity sees you collect cute monsters to battle with. Image: Axie Infinity

    The game runs on the Ethereum blockchain with the help of Ronin, a sidechain that helps minimize fees and transaction delays. It’s primarily focused on turn-based battles, either against computer-controlled Axie teams or live opponents over the Internet.

    n-game items are represented by NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. These cryptographically unique tokens can be linked with digital content; in Axie Infinity’s case, the Axies and land plots that populate the game. Unlike conventional in-game items, the NFT confers ownership on the buyer; you can trade Axies on the game’s marketplace for real money.

    You can buy and sell Axies on the game’s marketplace. Image: Axie Infinity

    You can also breed Axies, which lets you build potentially more powerful teams and yields additional NFTs to sell on the marketplace. Some Axie NFTs have sold for as much as 300 ETH apiece, or more than $600,000 as of this writing.

    How does Axie Infinity work?

    As mentioned, Axie Infinity is built entirely around NFT items—and right now, there’s no way to play unless you buy the three Axie NFTs needed to create your first team.

    They can be purchased from the official Axie marketplace via your Ronin wallet, which you’ll connect to the game. You can play on PC, Mac, Android, or iOS and take your Axies into battle to win rewards.

    What’s so special about it?

    Axie Infinity takes the fun and alluring premise of Pokémon and adds the element of ownership into the mix. These Axies belong to you and yield tangible rewards: Smooth Love Potion (SLP) crypto tokens that can be exchanged for money. The upfront costs will be a major roadblock for many players, but it’s a game that rewards players the more time and effort that they put into it.

    “Play-to-earn” might sound like a marketing phrase or a gimmicky hook, but we’re already seeing evidence of a player-owned economy taking shape around the game.

    For example, there are thousands of “Axie scholars” through programs like Yield Guild Games and others, in which Axie owners loan their NFTs to other players to use and earn with. The profits are divided amongst the parties, and in countries like the Philippines and Indonesia, people are playing Axie to support their families. Whether that proves to be a sustainable model remains to be seen, but it’s a potentially powerful and revolutionary idea that is already being put into practice.

    How to get started with Axie Infinity

    Here’s the hang-up: you will need three Axie NFTs to start playing Axie Infinity, though it’s become more affordable to play in recent months; where prices for individual Axies on the marketplace once hovered around $225-$250 apiece, now the cheapest Axies available cost just $28. Keep in mind that your Axies can be resold, plus they generate rewards through gameplay.

    You’ll need to buy three Axies to get started. Image: Axie Infinity

    Now that Axie Infinity has migrated assets from Ethereum to its Ronin sidechain, you will need to create a Ronin wallet and have an Ethereum wallet (like MetaMask) as well. Once you have a Ronin wallet set up, you can use the Ronin bridge to transfer ETH over to Ronin, where it becomes WETH (Wrapped ETH). You can then use this to purchase Axies.

    Create an account on the Axie Infinity website and download the game to your PC or Mac. You can download an Android APK to install on a smartphone or tablet, as well. The game has also been available for iOS via a beta release through Apple’s TestFlight program, but is currently unavailable as of this writing.

    Whichever version you choose, you’ll need to pair your Ronin wallet to your account, and then sync your Axies from the wallet to the game to start playing.

    What is the AXS token?

    Axis Infinity Shard (AXS) is the native governance token of Axie Infinity. Currently, you can use AXS to pay for breeding fees. In the future, AXS holders will be able to vote on decisions regarding the game and its future development, as well as stake AXS tokens to earn rewards within the game.

    Over time, Axie Infinity plans to gradually shift into a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to allow for community governance.

    Did you know?

    You can’t even use Axie’s land in gameplay yet, but it’s in demand: a single plot of Genesis land sold for a record-breaking $2.48 million in November 2021.

    Where can you buy AXS?

    AXS is available from cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, FTX, and Huobi Global, although it is not currently sold by Coinbase or Binance.US, for example. Decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and SushiSwapoffer it, however.

    Here’s how you can purchase AXS from Uniswap. You will need a crypto wallet with ETH or another Ethereum-based ERC20 token to trade at Uniswap. If you need ETH, you can purchase it with fiat money at Coinbase or Binance and then transfer it to your wallet.

    Buying AXS on Uniswap. Image: Decrypt

    Connect your wallet at Uniswap, select AXS from the list, and then choose which asset you want to swap for it. Enter the amount you want to trade and Uniswap will tell you how much AXS you will receive in return. If the numbers square up to your liking, click “Swap” and the transaction will go through.

    The future

    Axie Infinity blew up in a big way in late June 2021, not long after the Ronin transition and the announcement of a $7.5 million Series A funding round featuring Mark Cuban and Alexis Ohanian, among others. Sky Mavis also has support from major game publisher Ubisoft, which mentored the team in its Entrepreneur’s Lab accelerator program and aided the Ronin launch. A Series B funding round in October 2021, led by Andreessen Horowitz, saw Sky Mavis reportedly valued near $3 billion.

    With user numbers surging, by September 2021, Axie Infinity had already hit a total NFT transaction volume of over $2 billion. Long-term players were rewarded with a $60 million airdrop of AXS tokens in September 2021, followed a month later by the introduction of a staking service for AXS.

    In November 2021, Axie’s Ronin sidechain added its own decentralized exchange (DEX), Katana, making it easier for Axie players to swap tokens without having to bridge to Ethereum.

    Next up on the game’s expansive roadmap is the addition of gameplay based around its land NFTs, which let players customize the terrain and develop shareable experiences. It’s another aspect that will help expand Axie Infinity beyond simply battling and breeding monsters. Interest in the game’s virtual land is already high; in November 2021, a single plot of Genesis land in the game sold for a record-breaking $2.48 million.