What is Axie Infinity?

A blockchain-based game called Axie Infinity has taken over the crypto space and is currently dominating the NFT world. But, what is it exactly?

A blockchain-based game called Axie Infinity has taken over the crypto space and is currently dominating the NFT world. But what is it exactly?

Axie Infinity, created by Sky Mavis back in 2018, is a turn-based RPG game that allows users to buy, sell, trade, breed, and battle cuddly digital pets called “axies”. These axies are NFTs or non-fungible tokens that have completely dominated the crypto space over the past few months. In the past 30 days, it has been the top-selling NFT in the entire space (via crytoslam.io) and has amassed a whopping $200,000,000 worth of sales.

Its main token called AXS (Axie Infinity Shards) has nearly quintupled over the past two weeks from $3 to as high as $15 as of writing (via coinranking.com) which puts the total market cap of AXS at a staggering $874 million. Add to that, Small Love Potion tokens or SLP, Axie Infinity's in-game ERC-20 token, has ballooned from a $0.1 value to $0.2 within the same duration.

How does Axie Infinity work?

In a nutshell, Axie Infinity is an adventure-based game that has multiple layers of tactical strategies. Its play-to-earn gameplay, which people have likened to Pokemon or even CryptoKitties, revolves around your digital pets aka axies that have a unique set of skills and powers. To begin your journey in the Axie universe, you will have to acquire a team that consists of three axies. Right now, the floor on each adult axie–meaning a pet that's ready to go, can go for around 0.1 ETH each ($220) to as high as 0.2 ETH ($450).

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Mystic madness has overtaken Lunacia.

What are Mystic Axies and why are they selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars?$axs pic.twitter.com/Wrx1FiF5pW

— Axie Infinity | #AxieOrigins, #AxieHomeland (@AxieInfinity) July 4, 2021

Users have the option to level up their axies through the Adventure Mode (PVE) where you will have to climb the ladder and go through different levels or, in this case, Ruins. Users are able to farm as low as 1 SLP to as high as 20 SLP per each accomplished Ruin depending on the level.

On the other hand, axie owners can also opt to put their axies to the test by going through the Arena Mode (PVP) where users basically battle with different users on the platform. Each win in Arena Mode not only improves your MMR or Matchmaking Rating, it can also reward you a certain number of SLPs depending on your MMR (it can be as low as 0 to as high as 12 SLP per win). Obviously, each loss also brings down your MMR rating so tread lightly.

There are also other ways to earn or farm SLPs on a daily basis like completing a Daily Quest or even conquering different levels in Adventure Mode.

Scholarships

One of the biggest reasons why Axie Infinity has gone to, well, infinity is due to its successful Scholarship Program which was launched and spearheaded by the community in January 2021. To put it simply, axie holders are allowed to farm out their pets to scholars through different profit-sharing methods.

This scholarship program empowers people who do not have enough access to enter the game, still play and earn without the necessary capital. And, at the same time, axie owners can make the most out of their assets instead of simply “parking” them or having them stay in their personal collection by renting them to people who are willing to grind on a daily basis. Though it's not a fool-proof system, it's a win-win scenario that has made Axie Infinity a household name throughout the NFT universe.

In the Philippines, Axie Scholarships have completely taken over and have been a legitimate source of income over the past year–especially with the rise of unemployment due to COVID-19. Scholars earn around $300 per month for playing the game for 1-2 hours per day, on average while owners or managers also get a fair share.

“It sounds too good to be true but the Axie Scholarship Program has definitely been not just a game-changer, but a life-changer as well here in the Philippines,” says Joseph Tiempo of The Kings NFT – a local NFT/gaming collective that has onboarded a total of 100+ scholars in the past two months.

If you still have doubts, then we'll make sure to write you a letter from the moon because it seems that Axie Inifinity going to the cosmos is a matter of ‘when' not ‘if'.