Millennials make 25,000% returns on new crypto that blends gaming

Axie Infinity, a digital token that blends gaming and now commands a market-cap of over $2.5 billion, drew plenty of millennials through the pandemic period.

The gaming token launched in November 2020 has gained over 25,000 per cent so far; this means an investment of Rs 1,000 would have become Rs 2.5 lakh in nine months.

The cryptocurrency is among the exceptions, which have survived the scars of May and scaled a new all-time high, hovering near $42. The crypto mart saw aggressive selling in the larger and more popular tokens after China in May launched a major crackdown on the crypto industry.

Despite the volatility, the value of this NFT (non-fungible token) has soared as much as 75 times so far in 2021.

Vikram Subburaj, CEO and co-founder of Giottus Crytocurrency Exchange said the ecosystem has half a million daily active users, and new users are coming from developing economies such as the Philippines and Indonesia.

"For the gaming community though, AXS represents much more than just a cryptocurrency, and hence, it remains valuable in that ecosystem. The real challenge that AXS will face would be in scaling the daily active users to manifold," he said.

Built on the Ethereum network, Axie brings blockchain technology to woo gamers. They can earn Axie Infinity Shard token (AXS) and the other in-game token in several ways. Its universe is very much similar to Pokemon, which most of the millennials would relate to.

Every user needs to buy Axie to start with the game and the digital pets in the games can be purchased through this digital currency. The earning potential is what's made the game so popular, especially in the developing countries.

Siddharth Menon, COO of WazirX, firmly believes real crypto in the gaming spectrum is one of the biggest markets. He appreciated the cryptocurrency for its work in this space.

“Gamers spend endless money in buying assets, but are not able to resale or carry that assets to other games. Crypto games are a true value add to games,” he added.

Axis Infinity has a whitepaper with a clearly defined roadmap and goals. It will soon introduce staking. This allows token owners to tie up their coins for a set amount of time and earn interest.

Experts believe crypto-related games will be another big trend in the near future, where gamers will not only exchange inter-game NFTs, but will sell them to cult followers. Gaming as a career is gaining traction in the western world and expenses of the youngsters on gaming has increased.

Subburaj of Giottus said new use cases of blockchain and cryptocurrencies would continue to revolutionise the larger world of gaming. He said AXS has changed gaming from a time and money consuming activity to a money-making initiative.

“When a game grows bigger, players are not benefited except for more players to play with,” said Menon. "It's amazing as in this space as the game network grows players grow with them."

However, not everything is hunky dory for the Axie Infinity. There are some limitations on the highly expensive Ethereum network, and it needs solid tech to support growth.

“Competitors will sprout soon given the success story, which is usually good for the ecosystem,” said Subburaj. However, such investments are not for those, who don't understand the nuances of the gaming space,” he cautioned.