Axie Infinity: Play-To-Earn Is The New Economy Of Video Gaming
My side hustle involves playing a game for 2–3 hours a day and getting paid for it.
Axie Infinity is currently the number one blockchain game where players earn rewards in a form of cryptocurrency tokens, which can then be exchanged for real money. This is also known as “play-to-earn” in the gaming industry.
This sounds too good to be true and you must be wondering how is it possible that I can earn money by playing a game?
In this article, I will explain how I earn up to RM 4,000 a month by playing Axie Infinity.
What is Axie Infinity?
Before I jump into my journey, let us have a look at what this game is all about. Axie Infinity was created by Vietnamese gaming startup Sky Mavis. It uses two Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies which are Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Smooth Love Potion (SLP).
It is inspired by Pokemon where players collect digital pets known as Axies, which can be bred, raised, battled, and traded in the Axie ecosystem.
The game is designed to provide a fun, accessible, and educational way to learn about blockchain technology.
How I started my journey with Axie Infinity
I’ve been playing Axie Infinity since June 2021, and I must say that it is one of the best decisions I have ever made.
To start playing the game, you must first acquire three Axies from the Axie Marketplace. The price per Axie ranges from US$ 300 — US$ 400. With a starting upfront cost of US$ 1,200, this has become a barrier for people who wants to try playing the game.
To overcome this, I joined a Malaysian scholarship program where they provided three Axies for me to start my journey.
When I got my first earnings, I was over the moon and spent a couple of weeks thinking about what to do with it.
The extra earnings gave me the opportunity to save, invest and donate to charity.
How to earn money in Axie Infinity?
There are few ways you can earn from Axie Infinity:
- Farming SLP and selling them for real money
- Breeding and selling Axies
- Starting your own scholarship
- Investing in Lunacia Land
- Trading SLP and AXS
The game is still in the alpha stage and there will be more features added to it. With that said, there will be more ways to earn than what I have listed above.
Since I am under a scholarship program, I will be sharing on farming SLP and selling them for real money.
How to earn Smooth Love Potions (SLP)?
Most players are earning in Axie Infinity by farming Smooth Love Potion (SLP). SLP is important in the Axie ecosystem. It is high in demand because they are required to breed new Axies. SLPs can also be traded or sold on exchanges according to the current market price of SLP.
Currently, there are three ways to earn SLP in Axie Infinity:
- Battle monsters in Adventure Mode (PvE)
- Battle other players in the Arena (PvP)
- Complete daily quests by checking in once a day and completing tasks
How much can I earn from selling SLP?
At the time of writing, the market price of SLP is US$ 0.16 (RM 0.68). I earn about 100–200 SLP a day. My scholarship takes a flat rate of 70 SLP a day while I keep the remainder. This means that I can earn up to US $20.80 (RM 88.40) in a day of playing Axie Infinity according to the current price.
Last month, I earned 4,001 SLP after deduction and the market price of SLP was RM 1.02. This came up to RM 4,081.02 and is the highest I have earned as a scholar. Not bad for a game that requires 2–3 hours a day to play.
How to start playing Axie Infinity?
If the upfront cost of getting three Axies is not an issue then you can follow the steps below to start playing the game.
I have not bought my own Axies yet so I am sharing a quick guide on what I have learnt from other Axie players.
Step 1: Buy Ethereum (ETH)
First, you need some Ethereum to buy Axies. You can get it from cryptocurrency exchanges offering Ethereum such as Huobi, Coinbase, Crypto.com and Binance.
Set up an account with the preferred exchange and verify your identity. You will need to provide your address, identification number and a photo of your driver’s license or passport.
Once your account is verified, you can fund your account with fiat currency or any other cryptocurrency supported by the exchange.
Look for a trading pair with Ethereum and the asset you funded the account with and complete your order.
Step 2: Send ETH to MetaMask
Next, you will need a MetaMask wallet to interact with the Axie Infinity marketplace. MetaMask is available on iOS, Android and as a browser extension on Google Chrome.
Step 3: Send ETH to Ronin
The Ronin Wallet was built by Sky Mavis to speed up transactions and reduce fees for Axie Infinity. Ensure you download the Ronin Wallet from Sky Mavis’s official website as there are many fake wallets floating around. Once you have it installed, go to the Ronin-to-Ethereum bridge and connect your MetaMask wallet. Enter your Ronin address and the amount of ETH you want to send and complete the deposit.
Step 4: Buy Axies from the marketplace
Head over to the marketplace and look for three Axies. You will need to consider the number of times the Axie has been bred and its purity. You will also need to build a strong team. One of Axies need to have high health and another needs to be able to withstand high damage. Once you buy your Axies, you are ready to play your first game.
Where to find an Axie Infinity scholarship
If you find the upfront cost too high, you can always opt for a scholarship and earn a decent income. Scholarships are managed by an individual or a group of people who rent out their Axie team. In a scholarship, there is an agreement where the manager takes a cut of the SLPs farmed by the scholar. You can look for a scholarship in Axie community groups on Reddit, Discord and Facebook.
Conclusion
Axie Infinity and other play-to-earn games have created a new digital economy that has transformed gaming into money thanks to blockchain technology. I believe that play-to-earn is here to stay and will grow exponentially over the next coming years.
It is helping people all over the world to overcome unemployment and may even replace full-time jobs.
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor. Do not take anything on this article as financial advice. Do your own research. Consult a professional investment advisor before making any investment decisions. My writings are based on my observations and reading only.
