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Axie Infinity secures $152 M Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz, pushing its valuation to $3 B and expanding a game‑driven crypto economy with $2.4 B trading
Axie Infinity’s latest funding round added $152 million in Series B capital, lifting the Vietnam‑based startup’s valuation to $3 billion and underscoring the rapid growth of its play‑to‑earn gaming model【1】. The infusion follows a $7.5 million Series A just five months earlier and comes as the game’s on‑chain economy surpasses $2.4 billion in trading volume, highlighting both investor confidence and expanding user participation.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Funding round | $152 million Series B |
| Valuation | $3 billion |
| Prior round | $7.5 million Series A (5 months earlier) |
| Trading volume | $2.4 billion total |
The $152 million Series B was led by Andreessen Horowitz, a firm that also led the earlier Series A, signaling strong venture backing for Axie’s blockchain‑based gaming approach【1】. The jump from a $7.5 million raise to $152 million in less than half a year illustrates how quickly investors view play‑to‑earn games as a new frontier for crypto adoption. The company’s valuation now stands at $3 billion, a figure that dwarfs many other crypto‑focused startups that emerged in 2021.
Axie’s user base hit 1.8 million logged‑in players in August, with a concentration in the Philippines where roughly 40 percent of all players reside【1】. In that market, 25 percent of participants had never held a bank account before, making the game’s native tokens their first exposure to formal finance. The platform’s two in‑game currencies—AXS and SLP—have facilitated a total trading volume exceeding $2.4 billion, a metric that underscores the real‑world monetary stakes for players who can earn “thousands of dollars a month” by battling and breeding digital monsters【1】.
Despite the financial upside, onboarding remains cumbersome: new players must set up two crypto wallets, acquire Ethereum, and purchase at least three Axies, a process that can cost around $1,500 according to Rest of World estimates【1】. Recognizing this friction, Sky Mavis is developing a free‑to‑play version that could eventually appear on mainstream app stores, a move that may broaden the game’s reach to a potential 2 billion users as envisioned by co‑founder Aleksander Larsen【1】.
The latest funding round cements Axie Infinity’s status as a flagship play‑to‑earn project, but its long‑term influence will hinge on whether the upcoming free‑to‑play version can lower entry barriers enough to sustain growth beyond its current niche markets.
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AI-assisted synthesis by the TrendWatcher Editorial Desk · sourced from 2 outlets · Jun 23, 2026 · How we report
The game uses Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) as its primary token and Smooth Love Potion (SLP) as a secondary token.
The hack in March 2022 resulted in the loss of roughly $620 million in Ether and USDC, marking the largest cryptocurrency breach by dollar value and further depressing the value of SLP.
By mid‑2021, many players in the Philippines were treating the game as a main source of income, though earnings later fell below the national minimum wage and the income was deemed taxable.