Popular crypto exchange Phemex recently listed three of the most popular crypto tokens – Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), and Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), paired with USDT. Each of these assets represents a sector that has seen enormous growth over the past months.
However, AXS might hold the greatest potential to become part of the billion-dollar gaming industry of the future. Phemex has made it much easier for its users to buy, sell, and trade a token that continues to break all resistances into new highs.
Inspired by the iconic Nintendo game Pokemon, Axie Infinity is a decentralized game that was launched on the Ethereum network in 2018. It has seen surging adoption due to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) going into the mainstream. AXS is the game’s governance token.
The game is particularly popular in developing countries, such as Venezuela, Brazil, the Philippines, and others.
It represents a new trend where players can invest multiple hours of their day in exchange for entertainment and tokens with real-world value. This model is called play-to-earn, in which monetary rewards are based on the players’ performance and time investment.
The Axies are tokenized monsters in the form of NFTs that can be bred by players using the game’s native token Small Love Potions (SLP). The creatures are highly modifiable. Players are rewarded for completing tasks, battling other players, and staking AXS.
To begin playing Axie Infinity, a player needs to own 3 of these NFTs/creatures. One set costs around $1,500. Therefore, some users apply for “grants” to receive enough funds to breed their Axies and slowly pay back their debts.
Phemex Opens Its Platform To The Gig Economy Revolution With AXS
By listing the AXS token, Phemex has signaled an intention to benefit its users and thousands of players around the world by embracing the Play-to-Earn model.
Data from DappRadar shows a 44.64% increase in the amount of Axie Infinity NFTs, which stand at 330,696. The game’s marketplace recorded $842 million in transaction volume for the past 30 days.
Similarly, there has been a 26.82% increase in the number of unique wallets interacting with Axie Infinity’s smart contract, placing the total number at 309.680. A staggering 934.170 transactions have occurred in the same period.
Since the start of August, the number of AXS users peaked at around 35,000 with over $40 million in transaction volume.
This surge occurred even as the largest cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced bear markets. Bitcoin experienced a 50% drawdown and returned to its yearly open at around $29,000.
Data from DappRadar suggests an adoption curve moving to the upside. The continuous adoption of the play-to-earn model, as demonstrated by AXS being listed by major crypto exchanges such as Phemex, has led some experts to speculate on its impact in the “Gig Economy”.
The estimated average earning for an Axie player is about $500 for 6 hours of play. This is much higher than the basic income offered in the countries where the game has gained popularity. A whole new economic ecosystem could be taking form on top of Axie Infinity and its play-to-earn model.
In this sense, platforms like Phemex that allow people to buy AXS using fiat, should be highly significant in the long term.
