Brian Armstrong, Co-Founder and CEO of US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, says one red-hot altcoin signifies the rapid growth of the crypto industry into other sectors of the economy. 

In a recent tweet, Armstrong shared a Coinbase blog post on Twitter profiling the “mind blowing” growth of Axie Infinity (AXS), which he says parallels the growth of the crypto space into new industries.

According to Coinbase’s report, NFT-based game Axie Infinity is second only to Ethereum in the amount of revenue earned over the past 30 days ($186mln vs $742mln).

The report claims Axie, in addition to generating a massive amount of wealth in a short span, has introduced a new class of users to crypto applications: 

As these 1 million users interface with cryptocurrencies, NFTs, digital wallets, and DEXs [decentralized exchanges], it’s not hard to see this new cohort as natural users of other DeFi and Web3 applications.

The post compares the gamification of Axie Infinity to Pokémon, allowing users to collect various “Axies” and pit them in battles against other players. Users can breed Axies and trade them to other players, with revenue from the swaps going to the Axie Infinity Treasury, which holds more than $600 million in funds. 

Coinbase highlighted how the game has managed to grow its own digital economy, with in-game parallels to the Federal Reserve: 

If Axie Infinity is its own digital nation, game developer Sky Mavis serves as its Federal Reserve. Where the Fed has various tools it uses to influence the economy, Sky Mavis can adjust the SLP issuance rate and breeding fees with the aim of keeping the Axie economy healthy.

Coinbase also noted that the development of DeFi, NFTs, and gaming has elevated crypto beyond speculative trading into a “universe of expressive new apps and models.”

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.