Axie Infinity

This is the governance token and in-game incentive of the Axie Infinity blockchain game ecosystem, developed by Sky Mavis studio. Inspired by collectible card games and the Pokémon universe, the game allows players to collect, breed, and battle digital creatures called Axies, represented as NFTs. The economy is built on two tokens: AXS (governance and staking) and SLP (Smooth Love Potion) - an unlimited in-game token primarily used for breeding. AXS exists as a standard ERC-20 token on the Ethereum network, operates natively on its own Ronin network (an EVM-compatible sidechain), and is represented in BEP-20 format on the BNB Chain. Token holders participate in decentralized governance - voting on parameters of the in-game economy and the distribution of funds from the Community Treasury, which is replenished by a portion of marketplace and breeding fees.

The project was one of the pioneers of the play-to-earn model, attracting millions of users in developing countries during the 2021 boom. Unlike competitors such as The Sandbox and Decentraland, which focus on virtual real estate and user-generated content, Axie Infinity remains focused on gameplay and a dual-token in-game economy. A direct competitor in the AAA-RPG segment is Illuvium, while in terms of infrastructure, the project is closely tied to its Ronin sidechain network and its native token RON.

The ecosystem includes the DEX Katana, the official Mavis Market marketplace, the Ronin wallet, and the Mavis Hub platform for launching games. In 2023, the popular game Pixels migrated to Ronin, leading to a resurgence in on-chain activity. The founders emphasize that the model is focused on retaining real users rather than inflationary farming.

Features of Axie Infinity

Technical Information

Initially, Ronin operated on a Proof-of-Authority (PoA) algorithm with a set of 9 validators. After the bridge hack in March 2022, the number of validators was expanded, and in October 2023, the Shillin hard fork transitioned the network to Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) with RON delegation and slashing. Finalization time decreased from ~45 seconds to ~6 seconds; a typical block is produced in ~3 seconds, and throughput is 10-20 TPS, sufficient for gaming loads. Several AXS smart contracts are active on the network: the main ERC-20 on Ethereum (current address 0xBB0E…B28b; old address 0xF5D6…5ADA, migration instructions from Sky Mavis); the native token on Ronin (visible in the explorer, e.g., ronin:97a9…bece); and the BEP-20 mirror on BNB Chain (0x715d…8a0). Chainlink oracles (since November 2020) and payment support in the native token Klaytn (KLAY) are integrated.

Tokenomics

The maximum supply of AXS is strictly capped at 270,000,000 tokens. Initial distribution (per whitepaper): staking rewards - 78,300,000 (29%), Play-and-Earn incentives - 54,000,000 (20%), Sky Mavis team share - 56,700,000 (21%), public sale - 29,700,000 (11%), private sale - 10,800,000 (4%), advisors - 18,900,000 (7%), ecosystem fund - 21,600,000 (8%). The public sale was conducted via the Binance Launchpad on November 4, 2020, at a price of $0.10 per token, raising $2.97 million. The private round of $860,000 was led by Delphi Digital. The unlock schedule is spread over 65 months - from November 4, 2020, to April 7, 2026. AXS staking launched on September 30, 2021; in July 2025, a planned halving of staking emissions occurred (annual inflation reduced from 7% to 4.5%). In January 2026, developers completely halted SLP emissions to combat bot farms and introduced the bAXS token, which is earned through in-game activity and cannot be sold immediately, reducing seller pressure. The Community Treasury receives 4.25% of all NFT marketplace fees and a portion of AXS breeding fees; these streams are intended to support staking after emissions are exhausted.

AXS Security

A critical incident was the Ronin Bridge hack, executed on March 23, 2022 (discovered on March 29). Attackers, having gained access to 5 of the 9 validator private keys (four Sky Mavis validators and one Axie DAO validator via a previously granted allowlist), drained 173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USDC (worth approximately $615-625 million at the time). The attack was attributed by the FBI and OFAC to the North Korean Lazarus group (April 14, 2022). The bridge was suspended; the team raised $150 million led by Binance to fully compensate user losses. On June 28, 2022, Bridge V2 launched with a redesigned architecture: higher multisig thresholds, daily withdrawal limits, a three-tier system for large transactions, and stop valves. The bridge and DPoS contract code underwent audits by Verichains and CertiK. In September 2022, Google Cloud became an independent validator. In April 2022, a million-dollar bug bounty program was launched. In October 2023, the Shillin hard fork improved finality. Additional audits by Verichains and CertiK cover the wallet extension, mobile wallet, marketplace, and launchpad.

Where to Trade

List of trading platforms:

CEX exchanges: Binance, Gate, OKX, Coinbase Exchange, Kraken, Bitget.

The all-time high was recorded on November 6, 2021, with a drawdown from ATH of approximately 98%. The all-time low was $0.79 (end of 2025).

Trading occurs on major centralized exchanges: Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Upbit, Bitget, as well as on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and Hyperliquid. Custodial services are provided by Anchorage Digital. The asset has experienced delistings on eToro US (June 12, 2023), Coinbase (token-bitcoin pair removed October 28, 2025), and Turkish exchange CoinTR (July 1, 2026, withdrawals until August 31, 2026).

Aggregator Listings

Project ranking by market capitalization:

• CoinGecko rank: 200
• CoinMarketCap rank: 141
• Finkonkurs rank: 190

Investors and Funds

The project has attracted significant venture capital funding: a seed round of $1.5 million in November 2019 led by Animoca Brands; a Series A of $7.5 million in May 2021 led by Libertus Capital with participation from Alexis Ohanian, Mark Cuban, Collaborative Fund, and 500 Startups Vietnam; a Series B of $152 million in October 2021 led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with participation from Accel and Paradigm. The public AXS sale via Binance Launchpad raised $2.97 million ($0.10 per token). The private round of $860,000 was organized by Delphi Digital. Strategic investments also came from Binance Labs. Institutional presence includes the token's inclusion in VanEck's alpha strategies targeting the play-to-earn sector.

Key Partnerships and Ecosystem

Chainlink oracles have been integrated since November 2020 for price feeds and VRF. Payment support for the Klaytn (KLAY) token expands access for the Korean audience. The ecosystem includes games on Ronin (e.g., Pixels, which migrated in September 2023) and a partnership program for studios wishing to use the Axie IP or build their own games on Ronin with Sky Mavis support. Google Cloud has been an independent Ronin validator since September 2022. Mavis Hub functions as a launcher for ecosystem games. VanEck includes AXS in its digital alpha strategies. Custodial service Anchorage Digital provides corporate storage.

Potential

Specific technological and market factors:

• Transition to MMO format: Atia's Legacy Playtest 2 was announced in April 2026, Terrariums V1.1 (passive bAXS farming) launched in June 2026, and Playtest 3 took place on June 30, 2026, featuring 8-player PvP deathmatches with a prize pool of 2,500 bAXS.
• Economic reforms: halting SLP emissions (January 2026), introducing bAXS, halving staking rewards (July 2025) - aimed at reducing inflationary pressure and increasing sustainability.
• Growth of the Ronin network through onboarding third-party games (Pixels and others) and integration with game studios via the partnership platform.
• Support from institutional investors (a16z, Delphi Digital, Binance Labs) and custodial infrastructure (Anchorage Digital).
• Fixed supply and a transparent unlock schedule ending in April 2026, eliminating a key supply uncertainty factor.

Risks [Identified by Finkonkurs AI Analytics System]

• Regulatory: The SEC classified AXS as an unregistered security in its lawsuit against Binance (June 5, 2023, case 1:23-cv-01599) and in an amended complaint (September 13, 2024). A similar classification appears in the SEC lawsuit against Consensys (June 28, 2024). The token falls under MiCA regulation in the EU and requires strict compliance; in South Korea, trading is only permitted on exchanges with verified accounts. In Hong Kong, AXS futures are regulated under Reg 8.
• Technical and Operational: Historical centralization of the validator set (9 keys) led to the bridge hack in March 2022 (loss ~$600 million). Although measures have been strengthened, cross-chain bridges remain a systemic risk.
• Tokenomic: Extremely high concentration - 97.67% of the circulating supply is controlled by the top 100 wallets (Gini 0.999). Emissions according to the unlock schedule until April 2026 create potential seller pressure.
• Market: High volatility (historical drawdown ~98% from ATH, sharp rallies and crashes). Competition from Illuvium (AAA-RPG) and infrastructure tokens such as Immutable (IMX) and the native token Ronin (RON), to which capital flows from single-game tokens.
• Delistings: Trading restrictions in several jurisdictions (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Nevada, New Mexico via Paybis; eToro US; Coinbase; CoinTR) reduce liquidity.

Related Individuals

• Nguyen Thanh Trung (Trung Nguyen) - CEO and co-founder of Sky Mavis. Born in 1992 in Vietnam, studied at the High School for Gifted Students in Mathematics and Informatics at Hanoi University, then at FPT University majoring in Software Engineering. In 2012, together with Tu Doan, founded the social food delivery startup Lozi.vn, where he served as CTO. After working at the fintech company Anduin Technologies and experimenting with CryptoKitties, he focused on Axie Infinity. At Sky Mavis, he is the lead engineer responsible for the project's economy, architecture, and core system.
• Aleksander Leonard Larsen - co-founder and COO. Originally from Oslo, graduated from BI Norwegian Business School (Economics and Management, 2011). Before entering cryptocurrencies, he held government positions. At Sky Mavis, he manages business operations, fundraising, and investor relations.
• Jeffrey Zirlin (Jiho/Jihoz) - co-founder, responsible for growth, community, and global expansion. Born in New York, of Korean-American descent. Graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University (BA in History, wrote a thesis on the South Sea Bubble). Was a collector of Pokémon cards. Entered cryptocurrencies through the CryptoKitties Discord in 2017, became the fifth team member and the first non-Vietnamese co-founder.
• Tu Doan (Masamune) - co-founder, art director, and game designer. Childhood friend of Trung Nguyen, co-founded Lozi.vn with him, where he was Head of Design. Created the original visual style of Axies (the first pet, Puff, was inspired by his pet axolotl). Leads the art team in Vietnam.
• Andy Ho (Viet Anh Ho) - co-founder and CTO, leads the engineering team and defines the technical strategy.

Contests, Activities, and Hackathons on Our Platform

No contests, hackathons or marketing activities for this token have been published on Finkonkurs yet. New activities will appear here automatically once the team or partners launch them.

Whitepaper

The whitepaper describes the role of AXS as a governance and incentive token, the mechanism for replenishing the Community Treasury (marketplace and breeding fees), emission distribution (29% staking, 20% play, 21% team, 11% public sale, 4% private, 7% advisors, 8% ecosystem fund), details of the vesting schedule (65 months from November 4, 2020, to April 7, 2026), and the staking and governance model. Link: Whitepaper (PDF).