Blockchain and video gaming appear to have established the perfect symbiotic relationship over the last year or two, with major projects like Axie Infinity, Cryptokitties and Decentraland, leveraging NFTs to offer rewards that simply wouldn’t be possible with traditional games.
Axie Infinity is a kind of Pokemon-meets-Tamagotchi hybrid game that allows players to create their own characters - "Axies" - that they can either breed from or pit against one another in turn-based battles. So far, the games cutesy graphics and opportunities to earn rewards have been a big hit with gamers - with Axie Infinity boasting almost 2.5 million active users.
Some investors may still be reluctant when it comes to these seemingly lighthearted projects, but Axie’s native token - Axie Infinity Shards - saw major price growth in 2021 and the project has a huge amount of potential moving forward - especially given that there are upgrades on the horizon that could take the project to the next level.
Gaming-based cryptocurrencies also present the perfect opportunity to diversify a portfolio predominantly comprised of DeFi and/or value exchange tokens like Bitcoin, making it a worthy consideration for many investors looking to improve their overall strategy.
In the following article, we’ll take a look at five reasons why you too may wish to consider investing in Axie Infinity as it could double your money in 2023.
Is Play To Earn The Future Of Gaming?
On the surface, there’s nothing particularly revolutionary about Axie Infinity - players create their cartoon-like monster, then complete fairly simple tasks in adventure mode, with most of the action centring around turn-based battles. It is a tried and tested model that stretches back as far as the earliest video games.
However, what makes project like Axie Infinity stand out is that by winning said battles, players can earn the platform’s second native token - Smooth Love Potion - which can be traded on the open market or exchanged for other cryptocurrencies. In other words, players can actually earn a profit from playing the game. Even the Axies themselves are actually created as NFTs and each one has unique characteristics, meaning players can effectively trade or sell those as well.
Whilst most players aren’t likely to be raking in the big bucks, there are stories of players around the world earning a tidy income. Certainly, the play-to-earn model has proven popular and if the gaming industry continues to embrace it, one has to wonder why gamers would continue playing titles that don’t allow them to earn at the same time…
Why Axie Infinity Could Double Your Money In 2023?
1. The Gaming Market Is Huge
The main reason why Axi Infinity could double your money this year is because of the gaming market.
We can’t say for sure that play-to-earn titles are the future of gaming, but it certainly appears as though they are here to stay and given the plethora of in-game transactions that already existed before the emergence of NFTs in the gaming world, there’s every chance that the industry will continue to embrace a technology that can seamlessly integrate with just about any digital transaction.
And it’s a big industry at that. At the time of writing, the global gaming market is said to be worth some $173.7 billion and by 2027 that figure is expected to be closer to $315 billion. In fact, the mobile gaming market alone is worth over $100 billion. These are big numbers and should certainly be enough to whet the appetite of any forward-thinking investor.
In fact, the emergence of 5G technology is likely to propel gaming to new highs - and projects like Axie Infinity are perfectly placed to take advantage. For any investors who are still sceptical of the gaming industry, one only needs to look at the success of Angry Birds or Fortnite to gauge just how significant these brands can become.
And where does Axie Infinity fit into all this? Again, there are no guarantees that it will continue to grow in popularity, but given the game’s simplicity, charm and appeal to gamers of all ages, there is every chance it will become a major title over the coming years.
Check Out: Will Axie Infinity Make Me Rich In 10 Years?
2. The Ability To Stake AXS
Staking Axie Infinity is another major reason to consider investing in the token, as Axie Infinity could double your invested capital drastically.
We’ve already touched upon the concept of play-to-earn, which means that players on Axie Infinity can actually earn cryptocurrency as they progress through the game. However, as of September 2021, users can also take part in the Axie staking programme.
When the staking platform first launched, Sky Mavis - the developer behind Axie Infinity - dished out a large number of AXS tokens to players who had been using the platform since before October 2021. The APY started of pretty high - around 400% - and this encouraged plenty of users to stake their AXS holding. Over time, the APY has come down but it still offers some pretty good returns.
Staking on Axie basically means tying up your AXS tokens. Once you’ve done this, you’ll earn interest over time. Staking also gives users the right to vote on future developments and upgrades to the Axie infrastructure.
Given that players can earn from the platform as they play it, the staking programme is essentially a means of keeping tokens off the market, thus promoting scarcity and, in theory, allowing the price of the AXS token to continue to grow.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
3. Katana
An interesting feature of Axie Infinity that singles it out from other play-to-earn games to some extent is that it has its own decentralised exchange - Katana.
Katana is an automated market maker (AMM) developed by Sky Mavis to run on the Ronin side chain. The idea is to provide an easy way for those playing their game to exchange their tokens in-house, without having to go through a centralised exchange.
Katana currently allows users to trade the following tokens: Axie Infinity Shards, Smooth Love Potion, Wrapped Ethereum and USD Coin. The Katana exchange also introduced RON to the world - the token that will eventually be used to pay GAS fees on the Axie Infinity platform.
Users providing liquidity to the Katana platform are rewarded with RON, with 0.25% of each transaction fee being redistributed amongst the liquidity providers (or holders of RON). The platform appears to have been successful so far, with Katana locking in over $1.2 billion within just a few weeks.
Aside from a neat way for Axie Infinity users to move their tokens around and potentially earn from them without having to leave the chain, Katana also sets the groundwork for other NFT-based games to be built on the Ronin sidechain and for assets earned in one game to be exchanged for those in another. In theory, this could see the usage of Katana increase dramatically in the years ahead.
4. The Axie Infinity 2.0 Update
Anyone who knows anything about gaming knows that, no matter how good or popular a title may be, it cannot hold the top spot indefinitely without offering something new from time to time.
Fortunately, Axie Infinity has a major update on the horizon, which will hopefully see renewed interest from its existing users, as well as potentially attracting new players. No official date for the Axie Infinity 2.0 update has been announced, but according to developer Sky Mavis’s January update revealed a few details of what players can expect.
One change that users can expect is the tokenisation of Lunacie - Axie’s fictional gaming universe. In a move the would appear to emulate Decentraland, Axie Infinity will allow players to buy and own pltos of land that will allow them to harvest resources to use in the game. The exact details are yet to be revealed, but this would certainly add a new dimension to the existing format.
There will also be an overhaul of the games existing battle system. The developers have promised that this will not be such a big change as to alienate existing users, but will add mechanics and features to inject some new life into the game.
Investors not into gaming should be able to realise that any upgrades and new features added to a title are essential for its longevity. With some major changes coming to Axie Infinity - potentially in 2023 - we could see Axie Infinity crypto doubling your money as the AXS’s value could rise significantly.
Read more: Why Axie Infinity Will Skyrocket
5. The NFT Craze
Another reason why Axie Infinity could double your money any time during 2023 is because of the NFTs trend.
Non-Fungible Tokens were one of the most talked-about aspects of the cryptocurrency market in 2021, following several high-profile auctions that saw individual tokens raise millions of dollars. Whilst it’s possible that the current trend is largely driven by FOMO, there’s no denying that NFTs have become big business - with some $165 million thought to have been spent on them in total.
NFTs effectively offer a proof-of-ownership in digital form and it is with these tokens that platforms such as Axie Infinity is able to operate. We have already discussed an update that will allow users to purchase land within the Axie universe - it will be NFTs that effectively represent this ownership.
Given the amount of coverage that NFTs are getting, it is likely that they will continue to reach mainstream audiences, which in turn could swell Axie Infinity's user base, seeing as it is one of the most approachable games out there and gives players an easy way to collect NFTs.
Of course, none of this is guaranteed, but investors who are interested in getting in on the NFT trend might want to consider doing so indirectly, by adding AXS to their portfolio.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
What Are Analysts Predicting For Axie Infinity In The Coming Months?
We’ve now discussed five reasons to invest in Axie Infinity now in 2023 before it doubles in value. We certainly believe that the factors discussed above could lead to significant price growth. However, if we want to get an idea of how much growth Axie Infinity could increase , our best bet is to turn to some leading market analysts.
DigitalCoinPrice sees a fairly strong performance from AXS in 2023. It has the token gaining around 38% by the end of the first quarter, reaching a trading price of $65.22 going into April. The token is then expected to continue gaining ground, rising to $66.66 over the summer. However, DCP does see a slight decline in the latter half of the year, with AXS closing December at $59.25 - still 29% up on today’s price of $47.26.
Meanwhile, WalletInvestor is far more optimistic about Axie’s potential for 2023. According to its technical analysis, AXS could reach an average trading price of $77.10 before March is out. The token is then expected to grow steadily over the summer, potentially soaring past $140 in September. By the end of the year, the platform expects AXS to be trading at an average of $178.70, with a maximum trading price of up to $209.59.
The last Axie Infinity price prediction we looked at was from TradingBeasts. It actually has the token stalling slightly this year. Whilst the platform does have AXS up by 16% over the summer, with a trading price of $53.91, that price is expected to drop to just over $40 at the end of the year. However, AXS is expected to grow significantly in 2023 and is predicted to be up by around 80% by December.
Read Also: Axie Infinity Price Predictions
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Conclusion - Is Axie Infinity A Good Investment?
Axie Infinity is already hugely popular and the game seems to have genuinely widespread appeal. In reality, this alone could be enough to encourage investors to invest in Axie Infinity as the AXS coin could double their investments. After all, is there an easier way to get involved in an up-and-coming video game than by simply acquiring a few cryptocurrency tokens?
The five reasons listed above really could see Axie Infinity soar over the coming months and there’s enough there to demonstrate that the development team behind the game is continuing to innovate. Of course, the update alone could be enough to drive AXS’s price up significantly.
Whether or not Axie Infinity will cross over into the mainstream and take the world by storm remains to be seen, but it’s fair to say that the cryptocurrency market, in general, is increasingly appealing to the man on the street and there’s no real reason to assume that play-to-earn, NFT-based gaming won’t do the same.
From the Axie Infinity price forecasts we referenced, it appears that many analysts are optimistic about its future. Of course, these are by no means guaranteed, but they certainly present a vote of confidence in the platform.
All things considered, if you’re looking to expand your cryptocurrency investments and branch out into more niche areas, then Axie Infinity could present the perfect opportunity. The gaming industry is going to continue to grow and buying AXS presents an easy way to get in on the action.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
How To Invest In Axie Infinity
You actually have two options for investing in Axie Infinity - you can buy Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) or Smooth Love Potion (SLP). However, most investors are likely to pick the former, as it has a more robust use case.
If you want to buy Axie Infinity AXS then the first thing you’ll need to do is find an exchange that lists the token. Fortunately, one of the biggest names in retail crypto trading - eToro - lists the token. This is good news for potential investors as eToro is known for its reliability and approachable trading platform.
All you need to open an account is an email dress and proof of ID. Generally, getting set up will take just a few minutes and then you’ll have access to eToro’s considerable trading and information resources.
FAQs
What is Axie Infinity?
Axie Infinity is essentially a video game that looks like a cross between Pokemon and Tamagotchi. Players buy cartoonish monsters - known as Axies - and pit them against oneanother in turn-based battles. It’s also possible to breed new Axies or exchange the ones you have with friends.
Will Axie Infinity go up in 2023?
Video games are big business and Axie Infinity has already seen its userbase expand at an exponential rate. There are no guarantees as to which cryptocurrencies are going to explode in 2023, but if analysts’ predictions are anything to go by, AXS could be poised for significant growth in the months ahead.
Where can I buy Axie Infinity?
Axie Infinity is widely listed, but if you’re looking for a suitable exchange to buy Axie Infinity then we recommend eToro as it has a great reputation and an award-winning trading platform.
When buying into Axie Infinity, you have a choice between Smooth Love Potion (SLP) and Axie Infinity Shards (AXS). However, from an investment point of view, AXS is usually the way to go.
What is Play-to-earn?
Play-to-earn games allows gamers to acquire rewards as they progress. Axie Infinity is one such game, wherein users can earn cryptocurrencies simply by playing. The formula has proven extremely popular and certain industry voices have even suggested that play-to-earn could well be the future of gaming.
Does Axie Infinity use NFTs?
You’d have to have been living under a rock not to have heard of NFTs at this stage. Non-Fungible tokens are effectively a digital representation of an asset, that can and have been used to represent everything from tweets to short video clips. Axie Infinity characters - Axis - are themselves NFTs, which means they can be bought, sold and exchanged.
Read More:
Will Axie Infinity (AXS) Make Me Rich?
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