Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game that allows players to collect, breed, raise, battle, and trade digital creatures known as Axies. Think of it as a crypto-meets-Pokémon game where players raise, battle, and trade cute NFT pets called Axies. It features two native cryptocurrencies: Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), which can be bought and sold on exchanges like Coinbase, and Small Love Potion (SLP), which is awarded to players for spending time in the game. Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) is Axie Infinity ecosystem's own token and can be used to participate in key governance votes. Each Axie is a non-fungible token (NFT) with distinct attributes and strengths, and they can be entered into 3v3 battles, with the winning team receiving more experience points. These points can be used to level up an Axie's stats or evolve their body parts. Axies can also be bred together to produce new offspring, which can be used or traded on the Axie marketplace. To solve the scalability problem, Axie Infinity created its sidechain on Ethereum called Ronin Network, which ensures instant transactions not involving the Ethereum blockchain. Most transactions happen on a speedy, bespoke sidechain called Ronin, which developer Sky Mavis designed to have lower fees than the main Ethereum blockchain.

The gameplay of Axie Infinity revolves around fighting and breeding Axies. Players need to have an Axie to join the battle and select Adventure Mode (PvE) or Arena Mode (PvP). The game also features a marketplace where players can trade their Axies and land plots. A key feature of Axie Infinity is community engagement, where each member contributes, participates in governance, and generates content. There are two special cryptocurrencies used in the game: The main token, Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), can be bought and sold on exchanges like Coinbase. You need some AXS to play the game, but you can also trade AXS like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, or any other major crypto. AXS will also serve as a governance token, which allows holders to have a say in the future of the game. A second token, called Small Love Potion (SLP), is awarded to players for spending time in the game. You can win some for beating an opponent's Axie or for completing in-game quests. The more you play, the more SLP you can rack up. (While this asset is not currently available on Coinbase, you can buy and sell SLP via DEXs like Uniswap or SushiSwap.)

Axie Infinity was created in 2018 by Sky Mavis, a technology-focused game developer, along with co-founders Trung Nguyen and Aleksander Larsenwith and a team primarily based in Vietnam. Trung Nguyen is the current CEO of the platform, and Aleksander Larsen is credited as a co-founder and COO of the platform. The native ecosystem token, Axie Infinity Shard (AXS), was launched in November 2020, and as of August 2021, the game had around 1 million daily players. In the summer of 2021, Axie Infinity became widely popular on the Ethereum blockchain.

To play, you'll need an Ethereum-compatible crypto wallet and some ETH. You can buy some ETH from an exchange like Coinbase and send it to Coinbase Wallet (which is separate from the main Coinbase app; you can download it via Apple's App Store or Google Play) or Metamask. (You can also download this Chrome extension to connect Coinbase Wallet to a web browser if you'd rather play on a computer.) To start playing, you need to buy at least three Axies from the game's marketplace. Sky Mavis takes a 4.25% cut of all the Axies, virtual real estate, and other items users sell each other. "Rare" Axies with desirable traits cost more. Players can also "breed" new Axies, which costs some of the game's two native cryptocurrencies: Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Small Love Potion (SLP). You can earn SLP by successfully battling other players and completing quests.

You can buy and sell AXS via exchanges like Coinbase. SLP, in contrast, can be earned in-game and used to breed Axie.