Axie Infinity's AXS Token Now Up 700% From June Lows

The rally in Axie Infinity’s governance token AXS is showing no signs of slowing down as users continue to flock to the play-to-earn battle economy amid lackluster action in the broader crypto markets.

• AXS token clocked a new record high of $23.60 early today, surpassing the previous peak of $22.50 reached Tuesday, according to data source Messari.
• The cryptocurrency was changing hands at $23.86 at press time, up 700% from the low of $2.36 reached on June 22, when the broader market tanked and bitcoin fell below $30,000 for the first time since early January.
• Axie Infinity shards, or AXS, is the governance token of the Axie Infinity platform, an Ethereum-based digital marketplace for the game Axie Infinity. 
• "Axie Infinity, created by SkyMavis, allows players to earn income through non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, and cryptocurrencies by breeding, battling and trading digital pets called Axies," a Philippines-based Axie trader told CoinDesk.
• Players use AXS tokens to trade these digitized creatures. AXS holders can also stake their coins to earn weekly rewards and participate in governing the protocol. New entrants have to purchase at least three axies priced in ether, and the protocol makes money through axie sales, land sales, axie breeding fees and marketplace fees.
• Data tracked by Token Terminal shows Axie has raked in $51.3 million in the past 30 days, the most among decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and blockchains tracked by the site. That's four times more than the second highest, PancakeSwap with $12 million.
• According to DappRadar, the game is quite popular and is viewed as an income source in developing countries like Brazil, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Venezuela.
• Axie Infinity has widened its lead over prominent DeFi protocols like PancakeSwap, Uniswap and Compound in terms of revenue collection since CoinDesk's last update.
• Axie recently crossed $25 million daily trading volume, marking a 10-fold increase since early May, DappRadar CEO Skirmantas Januškas tweeted.