What Is Axie Infinity (AXS)? The Token Behind Play-to-Earn Gaming

LeeMaimai

/Oct 24, 2025

Key Takeaways

• Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game that allows players to earn tokens through gameplay.

• AXS is the governance and value token of Axie Infinity, used for staking, governance, and in-game fees.

• The Ronin Network is specifically designed for gaming, offering low fees and high throughput.

• Security lessons from the Ronin Bridge exploit emphasize the importance of using secure infrastructure.

• AXS tokenomics focus on sustainability and community incentives, with capped supply and staking rewards.

Axie Infinity kicked off one of crypto’s most visible use cases: play-to-earn gaming. While the initial hype has cooled from its 2021 peak, the project continues to evolve on the Ronin blockchain and remains a touchstone for how game economies can leverage tokens and NFTs. At the center of this ecosystem is AXS—Axie Infinity Shards—the governance and value accrual token that ties the game, its treasury, and its future together.

This guide explains what AXS is, how it fits into Axie Infinity’s economy, what’s changed since the early days of play-to-earn, and how users can approach custody and participation safely.

Axie Infinity in Brief

Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game where players collect, breed, and battle NFT creatures called Axies. The game’s core loop uses on-chain assets and a dual-token economy, launched by Sky Mavis and built on the purpose-built Ronin network to handle high-throughput, low-fee gaming transactions. Learn more on the official site or whitepaper:

Official site: Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity Whitepaper

Axie Infinity rose to prominence by enabling players to earn tokens through gameplay—an idea that sparked the “GameFi” trend. As the space matured, developers introduced more sophisticated sinks and utility, season-based incentives, and greater emphasis on sustainable design.

What Is AXS?

AXS is the native governance and value token of Axie Infinity. It is used to:

Participate in governance and treasury proposals
Stake to receive rewards and share in network incentives
Pay for certain in-game fees and activities, depending on design updates
Align long-term player, developer, and community incentives

For current market data, see AXS on CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko:

CoinMarketCap: Axie Infinity (AXS)
CoinGecko: Axie Infinity (AXS)

AXS is distinct from Smooth Love Potion (SLP), which historically functioned as a rewards and breeding resource within the game economy. The whitepaper outlines how these tokens interact and the design goals around balancing inflation, utility, and player incentives.

The Ronin Network: Purpose-Built for Games

Ronin is an EVM-compatible blockchain developed by Sky Mavis to host Axie Infinity and other games. EVM compatibility means developers can build with familiar tooling from Ethereum, while keeping fees low and throughput high for game-specific workloads. Explore Ronin’s network resources here:

Ronin Network
Ronin Bridge
Ronin Explorer
Sky Mavis Docs

Ronin’s dedicated architecture underpins Axie Infinity’s marketplace activity, breeding, item transfers, and other game transactions. It also serves as a platform for onboarding new titles that require fast, cheap, and composable on-chain actions—an increasingly important requirement as web3 games iterate on live operations and on-chain assets.

Lessons from the Ronin Bridge Exploit

In March 2022, Ronin’s bridge suffered a major exploit. The incident became a watershed moment for crypto gaming security and prompted significant upgrades to validators, monitoring, and operational procedures. For background, see reporting by CoinDesk:

Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network Hacked for $600M

The bridge later re-opened with strengthened controls. For ongoing updates, check the Sky Mavis blog:

Sky Mavis Blog

For players and token holders, the takeaway is timeless: use battle-tested infrastructure, diversify custody, and prefer secure signing practices when interacting with bridges and dapps.

How the Axie Economy Works

Axie Infinity’s economy contains several moving parts:

NFTs: Axies, items, and land. NFTs enable ownership, trading, and utility across gameplay modes and seasons.
Dual Tokens: AXS for governance and value accrual; SLP for certain in-game functions that may vary across seasons.
Marketplace and Fees: Transactions on Ronin are optimized for low cost, supporting a global player base.
Treasury and Governance: AXS stakers can vote on proposals that influence emissions, sinks, rewards, and ecosystem grants. See the whitepaper for the latest design details:
- Axie Infinity Whitepaper

As the industry matured, play-to-earn evolved toward “play-and-own” with heavier emphasis on fun, progression, and utility beyond pure token rewards. Changes in app store policies around NFTs and crypto payments have also influenced distribution strategies for web3 games:

Apple App Store Review Guidelines

AXS Tokenomics and Staking

AXS has a capped supply with emissions designed to incentivize players, developers, and community builders over a multi-year horizon. The allocation and unlock schedule are described in the whitepaper. Holders can stake AXS to receive rewards and participate in governance:

AXS Staking Portal

Over time, treasury-driven proposals can adjust reward streams and sinks to pursue sustainability. As with any governance token, outcomes depend on participation, developer execution, and market conditions.

Latest Dynamics in Web3 Gaming

The broader web3 gaming scene has seen renewed traction as networks optimize for game studios and as titles focus on retention, cosmetics, and asset utility. Ronin remains among the most active gaming networks by unique users and transactions; you can review current chain rankings and activity snapshots via DappRadar:

DappRadar Chain Rankings

This shift reflects a more mature model: onboarding mainstream players with familiar UX, blending off-chain progression with on-chain ownership, and gradually exposing crypto features as players advance.

How to Acquire and Store AXS

Common paths to AXS include:

Centralized exchanges (CEXs) listing AXS
Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) on Ethereum or supported EVM chains, where AXS exists as an ERC‑20 token
Bridging to or from Ronin via the official Ronin Bridge for ecosystem participation

When interacting with ERC‑20 tokens, refer to Ethereum’s token standard documentation to understand allowances, approvals, and signing risks:

Ethereum ERC-20 Token Standard

Security best practices:

Use hardware wallets for long-term holdings
Verify contract addresses from official sources
Limit approvals and periodically revoke unused allowances
Prefer the official bridge and explorer links for Ronin

Risks and Considerations

Market Volatility: AXS is a crypto asset subject to large price swings.
Governance Uncertainty: Token-based votes can produce outcomes that differ from expectations.
Smart Contract and Bridge Risks: Even with improvements, bridges and dapps carry technical risk.
Regulatory and Platform Policy Changes: App store and regional regulations can affect distribution and monetization.

Always do your own research and consider risk tolerance before participating.

Should You Use AXS?

If you’re invested in the Axie Infinity ecosystem—whether as a player, creator, or builder—AXS is the main lever for aligning with governance and potential value accrual. For purely speculative exposure, understand unlock schedules, staking APY mechanics, and how treasury decisions may influence long-term supply and demand.

Safeguarding AXS with OneKey

If you plan to hold AXS for the long term, cold storage is a prudent choice. OneKey hardware wallets provide:

Offline private key storage and secure signing
Open-source software and active community review
Multi-chain support for common EVM networks, making it straightforward to custody AXS held as ERC‑20 and interact via desktop or mobile companion apps

For users bridging between networks or frequently claiming rewards, separating long-term holdings from a smaller “hot” wallet can reduce exposure. A hardware wallet like OneKey helps maintain that separation while preserving usability.

The Bottom Line

Axie Infinity pioneered play-to-earn and continues to iterate toward sustainable, fun-first web3 gaming on Ronin. AXS sits at the heart of governance, staking, and ecosystem incentives. Whether you’re an active player or a long-term token holder, focus on secure custody, official network tooling, and staying current with governance and developer updates.

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