<s>
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
non-fungible	O
token-based	O
online	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Vietnamese	O
studio	O
Sky	O
Mavis	O
,	O
known	O
for	O
its	O
in-game	O
economy	O
which	O
uses	O
Ethereum-based	O
cryptocurrencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
of	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
collect	O
and	O
mint	O
NFTs	O
which	O
represent	O
axolotl-inspired	O
digital	O
pets	O
known	O
as	O
Axies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2021	O
,	O
most	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
players	O
were	O
from	O
the	O
Philippines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
is	O
built	O
on	O
the	O
Ronin	B-Protocol
Network	I-Protocol
,	O
an	O
Ethereum-linked	O
sidechain	O
developed	O
by	O
Sky	O
Mavis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
official	O
Cryptocurrency	O
is	O
"	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
Shards/Token	O
"	O
or	O
AXS	O
for	O
short	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2022	O
,	O
hackers	O
compromised	O
the	O
Ronin	B-Protocol
Network	I-Protocol
,	O
stealing	O
approximately	O
US$620	O
million	O
worth	O
of	O
cryptocurrency	O
from	O
the	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
website	O
,	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
competitive	O
game	O
with	O
an	O
"	O
idle	B-Application
battle	I-Application
"	O
system	O
derived	O
from	O
games	O
like	O
Final	B-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
Tactics	I-Application
and	O
Idle	O
Heroes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
earn	O
rewards	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
two	O
cryptocurrencies	O
,	O
Small	O
Love	O
Potions	O
(	O
SLP	O
)	O
and	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
Shards	O
(	O
AXS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sky	O
Mavis	O
marketed	O
the	O
game	O
with	O
a	O
"	O
play-to-earn	B-Protocol
"	O
model	O
(	O
also	O
called	O
"	O
pay-to-play-to-earn	O
"	O
model	O
)	O
where	O
after	O
participants	O
pay	O
the	O
starting	O
costs	O
,	O
they	O
can	O
earn	O
an	O
Ethereum-based	O
in-game	O
cryptocurrency	O
by	O
playing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
allows	O
users	O
to	O
cash-out	O
their	O
tokens	O
every	O
fourteen	O
days	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
of	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
can	O
also	O
purchase	O
virtual	O
land	O
and	O
other	O
in-game	O
assets	O
as	O
NFTs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
commenced	O
in	O
2017	O
,	O
led	O
by	O
its	O
co-founder	O
and	O
CEO	O
,	O
Nguyen	O
Thanh	O
Trung	O
,	O
alongside	O
Tu	O
Doan	O
,	O
Aleksander	O
Larsen	O
,	O
Jeffrey	O
Zirlin	O
,	O
and	O
Andy	O
Ho	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nguyen	O
had	O
previously	O
spent	O
money	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
CryptoKitties	B-Protocol
before	O
he	O
began	O
work	O
on	O
his	O
own	O
blockchain-based	O
game	O
,	O
combining	O
elements	O
of	O
CryptoKitties	B-Protocol
with	O
gameplay	O
from	O
the	O
Pokémon	B-Application
series	O
or	O
Neopets	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
development	O
team	O
released	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
's	O
first	O
battle	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sky	O
Mavis	O
launched	O
Ronin	O
wallet	O
in	O
February	O
2021	O
,	O
which	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
speeding	O
up	O
transactions	O
and	O
eliminating	O
expensive	O
gas	O
fees	O
for	O
gamers	O
offers	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
play	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
or	O
any	O
other	O
dApp	B-Application
that	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
Ronin	O
sidechain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
value	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
associated	O
token	O
,	O
Smooth	B-Protocol
Love	I-Protocol
Potion	I-Protocol
(	O
SLP	O
)	O
(	O
formerly	O
known	O
as	O
Small	O
Love	O
Potion	O
by	O
the	O
community	O
)	O
,	O
crashed	O
in	O
February	O
2022	O
amid	O
a	O
wider	O
NFT	O
and	O
cryptocurrency	O
crash	O
,	O
losing	O
over	O
99%	O
of	O
its	O
peak	O
value	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sky	O
Mavis	O
removed	O
references	O
to	O
"	O
play-to-earn	B-Protocol
"	O
on	O
its	O
websites	O
and	O
marketing	O
as	O
its	O
tokens	O
plummeted	O
in	O
value	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
23	O
March	O
2022	O
,	O
hackers	O
compromised	O
the	O
Ronin	B-Protocol
Network	I-Protocol
,	O
stealing	O
approximately	O
US$620	O
million	O
in	O
Ether	B-Application
and	O
USDC	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
total	O
of	O
173,600	O
Ether	B-Application
and	O
25.5	O
million	O
USDC	B-Protocol
tokens	O
were	O
stolen	O
in	O
two	O
transactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
cryptocurrency	O
has	O
been	O
laundered	O
through	O
a	O
cryptocurrency	O
tumbler	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Tornado	B-Protocol
Cash	I-Protocol
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aleksander	O
Leonard	O
Larsen	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
co-founders	O
of	O
Sky	O
Mavis	O
,	O
announced	O
at	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
2023	O
,	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
development	O
would	O
in	O
future	O
move	O
towards	O
a	O
Play	O
and	O
Earn	O
concept	O
instead	O
of	O
a	O
Play	B-Protocol
to	I-Protocol
Earn	I-Protocol
concept	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
entertainment	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
rather	O
than	O
any	O
monetary	O
considerations	O
to	O
playing	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Play-to-Earn	B-Protocol
games	O
like	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
have	O
at	O
times	O
been	O
considered	O
a	O
viable	O
source	O
of	O
income	O
in	O
low-income	O
countries	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Philippines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Philippines	O
,	O
Brazil	O
,	O
Venezuela	O
,	O
and	O
Argentina	O
are	O
among	O
the	O
countries	O
from	O
which	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
players	O
come	O
and	O
where	O
the	O
income	O
generated	O
by	O
the	O
game	O
has	O
been	O
higher	O
than	O
the	O
average	O
income	O
of	O
the	O
country	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
volatility	O
of	O
the	O
tokens	O
earned	O
being	O
a	O
fundamental	O
problem	O
in	O
the	O
appropriation	O
of	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
source	O
of	O
income	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Philippine	O
Department	O
of	O
Finance	O
clarified	O
that	O
income	O
from	O
playing	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
is	O
taxable	O
,	O
and	O
suggested	O
that	O
the	O
SEC	O
and	O
BSP	O
may	O
classify	O
its	O
cryptocurrency	O
as	O
a	O
currency	O
or	O
a	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
has	O
received	O
criticism	O
focusing	O
primarily	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
high	O
financial	O
barrier	O
to	O
entry	O
,	O
questions	O
about	O
the	O
project	O
's	O
long-term	O
durability	O
including	O
accusations	O
of	O
a	O
ponzi	O
or	O
pyramid	O
scheme	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
possible	O
negative	O
effects	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
on	O
the	O
players	O
 '	O
mental	O
health	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
play	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
one	O
needs	O
to	O
purchase	O
at	O
least	O
three	O
Axies	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
NFTs	O
for	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
several	O
hundred	O
Dollars	O
at	O
the	O
peak	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
player	O
also	O
needs	O
to	O
familiarize	O
themself	O
with	O
the	O
basics	O
of	O
dealing	O
with	O
blockchain	B-Application
technologies	I-Application
before	O
making	O
an	O
initial	O
investment	O
into	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
before	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
play	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
lacks	O
long-term	O
economic	O
durability	O
according	O
to	O
some	O
of	O
its	O
critics	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
it	O
has	O
to	O
rely	O
on	O
players	O
continuing	O
to	O
invest	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
critics	O
have	O
accused	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
's	O
basic	O
economic	O
design	O
of	O
being	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
speculative	O
bubble	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Andreas	O
Hackethal	O
of	O
the	O
Goethe	O
Business	O
School	O
has	O
referred	O
to	O
the	O
concept	O
as	O
Pump	O
and	O
Dump	O
,	O
maintaining	O
that	O
players	O
are	O
only	O
willing	O
to	O
spend	O
money	O
and	O
time	O
playing	O
the	O
game	O
because	O
of	O
their	O
hope	O
that	O
the	O
prices	O
will	O
increase	O
and	O
speaking	O
of	O
a	O
pay-to-earn	O
rather	O
than	O
play-to-earn	B-Protocol
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Games	O
like	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
are	O
often	O
associated	O
with	O
psychological	O
problems	O
on	O
the	O
part	O
of	O
their	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
De	O
Jesus	O
et	O
al.	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
Scholarship	O
Program	O
,	O
through	O
which	O
wealthier	O
NFT	O
owners	O
lend	O
their	O
NFTs	O
to	O
other	O
players	O
to	O
share	O
the	O
resulting	O
proceeds	O
,	O
is	O
monitored	O
by	O
leading	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
Axie	B-Protocol
Infinity	I-Protocol
community	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
subject	O
to	O
any	O
form	O
central	O
control	O
,	O
so	O
NFT	O
owners	O
could	O
retain	O
the	O
proceeds	O
without	O
paying	O
the	O
so-called	O
Scholars	O
.	O
</s>
