Axie Infinity is a unique crypto ecosystem that ties cryptocurrency, NFTs, and gaming into one experience.
You can buy the Axie Infinity currency on its own or use it as part of the game where you can collect characters for battle, land, and other blockchain-based assets to own and play.
Keep reading to learn more about how Axie Infinity works and if it could be a good fit for your cryptocurrency goals.
What Is Axie Infinity?
Axie Infinity is both a cryptocurrency and game. Even if you’re not a gamer, you can still buy and hold the Axie Infinity Shard token (symbol AXS) through many popular crypto exchanges. But if you only look at the cryptocurrency, you’re missing a lot of what Axie Infinity is all about.
Using the Ethereum currency, you can create and trade in-game characters called Axies. You can also use AXS in-game. And active players can earn more while playing.
The game involves battling and collecting digital land and resources. It’s kind of like an amped-up version of Pokemon with aspects of MMORPG (massively-multiplayer online roleplaying games) and Magic the Gathering.
Using Axie Infinity
Playing Axie Infinity is more complicated than putting a disk into your PlayStation and pushing the power button. You’ll need to download and fund a compatible cryptocurrency wallet like MetaMask, create an Axie Infinity account, generate a Ronin wallet (another blockchain wallet), download and install the game, and buy or create three Axies to start playing.
Unlike Pokemon, where you can have multiple Pikachus, every Axie is unique. There are about 140,000 Axies in existence today, viewable in the Axie Marketplace.
Once you’re all set and connected and own your first three Axies, you can send them to battle against other players. Axies are customizable with different abilities.
Land is also available to purchase, where you can harvest resources and host Axie battles. Land is limited in supply, so it’s wise to snatch some up when you can if you’re into the game.
This game was one of the reasons I bought an NFT.
Where To Buy Axie Infinity
As Axie Infinity grows in popularity, its cryptocurrency value has exploded from $0.50 per coin at the start of 2020 to a peak of over $160 in November 2021. If you bought in early enough and followed a HODL philosophy, you could have seen a 320x return in less than two years.
A handful of top cryptocurrency exchanges support the AXS token for trading. Those include Coinbase, Binance, Gemini, Kraken, Bitstamp, and others.
Keep in mind that Axie Infinity is a volatile and risky cryptocurrency, arguably riskier than more popular currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, with a well-supported and active blockchain of its own, Axie Infinity may be a far better choice than many new and risky altcoins flooding the crypto markets.
As of this writing, if you’re looking for secure offline (cold) storage, consider a Trezor wallet, which is compatible with the blockchains behind Axie Infinity.
Other Game-Based Tokens
While Axie Infinity is one of the better-known blockchain-backed games, it’s definitely not alone. Here are some other cryptocurrencies you can buy that are attached to specific online games or online metaverses:
Axie Infinity’s market cap is much larger than all of these other coins combined. But if you get in one of those other games early enough, you could luck out and see huge returns. Even if you don’t get the same 320x as Axie HODLers, the cryptocurrency gaming genre is just getting warmed up. There’s plenty more to come in the future.
Advantages & Disadvantages Of Axie Infinity
Should You Buy Axie Infinity?
Axie Infinity is useful as both an investment and a game-play token. If you want to get Axies and land of your own, you’ll need Axie Infinity token to get started. But as an investor, it’s up to you to decide if AXS is on the way up and a good place to put your money.
Eric Rosenberg is a financial writer, speaker, and consultant based in Ventura, California. He holds an undergraduate finance degree from the University of Colorado and an MBA in finance from the University of Denver. After working as a bank manager and then nearly a decade in corporate finance and accounting, Eric left the corporate world for full-time online self-employment. His work has been featured in online publications including Business Insider, Nerdwallet, Investopedia, The Balance, HuffPo, Investor Junkie, and other fine financial blogs and publications. When away from the computer, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, traveling the world, and tinkering with technology. Connect with him and learn more at EricRosenberg.com.
