Axie Infinity

What is Axie Infinity? 

• Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn game designed to gain exposure to the capabilities of blockchain technology. This demonstrates how the gaming industry has integrated into the cryptocurrency industry. As of August 2021, this online game is the number one Ethereum-based gaming decentralised application (DApp).
• Axie Infinity features fantasy animals with different attributes and strengths. Each character or Axie is a non-fungible token (NFT), which can be raised, battled, and traded on the Axie marketplace. Over 750,000 Axies have been sold and exchanged within a single month.
• Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Smooth Love Potion (SLP) are the two main tokens used to breed new game characters, Axies, in the Axie Infinity ecosystem. Both are ERC-20 tokens that run on the Ethereum blockchain.
• Released in mid-November 2020, AXS is Axie Infinity’s native governance token that the holders can use to play games, vote on the Axie Community Treasury’s fund management, and stake to claim rewards. It is secured by Ethereum’s proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism.
• Axie Infinity has developed the Ethereum sidechain Ronin as the scaling solution. This will reduce network congestion and gas fees and support seamless transactions with instant confirmation. It also helps migrate the in-game assets from the Loom Network to Ethereum Mainnet. 

Key Metrics

Ticker	Axie Infinity
Token Name	AXS
Token Type/Protocol	ERC20/Ethereum
Total Token Supply	270,000,000
Current Circulating Supply	See Coinmarketcap
Market Capitalisation	See Coinmarketcap
Token Creation Date	November 2020
Can it be mined?	Yes

Who is behind Axie Infinity?

Inspired by the popular Pokémon game series, the technology-focus game developer Sky Mavis created the Ethereum-based game Axie Infinity in 2018. This Vietnam-based game studio is co-founded by  Trung Nguygen, CEO and software engineer, and Aleksander Larsen, the COO and former competitive gamer.  The game creator also works with an external third party to design artworks, animated characters and tools, including an Ethereum-linked sidechain known as Ronin.  

What is the purpose of Axie Infinity?

Axie Infinity was built as a fun, colourful, educational game to improve access to blockchain technology and become a new source of income for many gamers as most players are from developing countries hit hard by the covid-19 crisis.

Insights

Axie Infinity has risen in popularity over the past few years, particularly during the pandemic as the unemployed users turn to this crypto video game for financial relief.  In the first half of 2021, Axie’s trading volume surged to a whopping $2.5 billion. Later on, the game generated nearly $780 million in sales across 1.4 million transactions. In August, it reached 1 million daily active users (DAUs). More importantly, this online game hit $1 billion in all-time high sales for the platform backed by the Ethereum blockchain.  Axie Infinity plans to expand the user base and increase the demand for AXS tokens in the long term.  

• According to Capital.com,  Axie Infinity could be potentially acquired by American or Chinese video game companies such as Riot Games, Electronic Arts, Tencent to increase the audience and the AXS price. 
• Starting in 2021, AXS token holders will take part in key governance votes to have a say in the game’s development and stake their token to receive regular rewards. This serves as an incentive to increase AXS ownership among new players.
• AXS will continuously be one of the active cryptocurrencies as it is now ranked 85th based on its market capitalisation
• Since July 2021, the game’s creator, Sky Mavis, has generated $485 million in revenue. This jump in the AXS price will draw more flocks of new crypto traders in struggling economies. 

Risks

• Axie’s server has struggled with several shutdowns as a result of the errors and disconnection. 
• The profits from Axie Infinity might fall substantially in the Philippines as the Department of Finance (DOF) is looking to tax blockchain-based gaming companies and the income earned by users through gameplay on such platforms. 
• Axie Infinity might remain local with a small user base as China’s new rules to further tighten control on the technology sector and the diluted laws in the US will not allow anyone to buy out a company in the future.    

News and Updates

• Axie Infinity developers tweeted on 27 Aug 2021 that they look forward to working with governments to develop innovation and empower gamers as ‘play-to-earn’ is an important shift in the nature of work. 
• The AXS price declined by 0.7% under the regulatory radar in the Philippines as the nation’s tax authorities recently declared that the profits which users were earning through online play-to-earn games were deemed as taxable income.
• Despite generating income from Filipinos, Axie Infinity is neither registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission nor does it have a license to trade securities in the Philippines. 
  • Philippines SEC has received numerous inquiries regarding Axie Infinity and other ‘play-to earn’ platforms. In fact, it has discussed this topic with the PhiliFintech Innovation Office (PIO) and other operating departments. Now, the SEC is investigating regulatory touchpoints and studying the economic impact as well as risk exposure to Filipinos.

Community & Whitepaper Links:

• Official Website:https://axieinfinity.com/?__cf_chl_captcha_tk__=pmd_iiLq0kCBoVJ9W_Rbdu5cIlUVsZx23qQzBLM1RMk3Zx8-1630249043-0-gqNtZGzNAuWjcnBszQil  
• White Paper: https://whitepaper.axieinfinity.com/ 

Disclaimer: 
All investment is speculative and involves substantial risk and uncertainty. Investors should understand the nature of digital assets including the terms of return and the risk of assets. We encourage investors to fully understand the assets and the risk associated with them prior to making any investment.