According to the latest CoinGecko charts, the SLP token required to breed creatures in the crypto-collectible game Axie Infinity has increased in value by an astonishing 4971% over the past week.
The colossal market movement occurred mainly over the past two days, and brought the value of a single SLP token to over nineteen cents. A week ago it was worth less than a penny.
The reason behind the price pump remains unclear. It could be due to the developer's recent announcements regarding in-game land developments, or based on pure speculation. Regardless, the token's rocketing price has set the community Discord abuzz as players discuss the ramifications of the token's increasing value.
While the catapulting price is great news for current SLP token holders, newcomers will find it more expensive to join the game if the token retains its increased value. Depending on the parent's breed count, it can take more than 100 SLP (Small Love Potion) tokens to produce a single Axie.
The gas fees paid to breed should be alleviated later this year when the team launches their custom Ethereum sidechain dubbed "Ronin".
Axie Inifinity is a "Play to Earn" game, similar to other blockchain-based games like Prospectors on EOS and Splinterlands on Hive, in which players earn tokens for their participation.
In addition to earning money by upgrading their Axies and selling them on the open market, players can earn SLP tokens by battling other players and completing quests.
Players are awarded 7 SLP tokens for each battle they win, and a match lasts approximately 5 minutes. That means players can earn about $16.00/hour during peak play times if the token retains its current market value.
SLP tokens can be traded for ETH on Uniswap, a decentralized exchange on Ethereum where users can create their own ERC-20 liquidity pools.
Months ago, the Axie community created an SLP liquidity pool on Uniswap. As the game grew in popularity, so did the demand for the SLP token, and eventually the token took on a market value.
Users can collect trading fees by adding their SLP tokens to the liquidity pool.
The total supply of SLP is currently just over 3 million and there are a total of 1,298 Ethereum addresses holding the tokens. You can view these stats yourself by checking out the SLP contract on Etherscan.
To learn more about the mechanics behind Axie's SLP tokens, check out the team's official breeding guide. The team is also available to answer your questions on the group's Discord channel.
Sources:
https://blockchaingamer.net/decentralized-game-axie-infinity-meets-decentralized-finance-protocol-uniswap-creating-usd-2-5k-liquidity-in-just-a-few-days/
https://app.uniswap.org/#/swap
https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/small-love-potion
https://dappradar.com/blog/axie-infinity-and-uniswap-gaming-meets-defi
https://axie.substack.com/p/axie-breeding-guide