Axie Infinity token up 17% after game added to App Store

Axie Infinity token up 17% after game added to App Store
Axie Infinity cryptocurrency gained 17% on news of the game's addition to the App Store
Blockchain game achieves iOS release with the ability to use NFTs purchased outside of Apple's payment system

Axie Infinity (AXS) cryptocurrency gained 17% after the announcement that Axie Infinity: Origins became available on the App Store for iPhone users in some countries. On May 17, the token's value rose from $6.92 to $8.11 the moment after the news was published on the project's blog. According to CoinGecko, as of 1 p.m., the AXS price is hovering around the $7.59 mark.

Axie Infinity: Origins is an Ethereum blockchain-based strategy card game from developer Sky Mavis. Players battle each other using fantasy creatures called "axis". In the game, you can buy, and create new creatures and exchange them. The developers' investors were Binance, Animoca Brands, a16z, and other large companies.

In December 2022, a beta version of Origins with limited features was launched on the Malaysian Google PlayStore as part of testing. According to the developers, the launch of the app on the App Store in South America and Asia was similar to testing of the product before it was released to a wider market.

The announcement notes that this release of the game on iOS will allow for an "axis" in the form of NFT. According to the company, this is the first time Apple has agreed to recognize an NFT purchased outside of its platform as suitable for use on the App Store.

In October 2022, the App Store introduced rules for NFT-enabled apps. Under the terms of the marketplace, companies can offer in-app creation (mincing), sale, and purchase of NFT, but all transactions must take place exclusively on Apple's platform, whose commission is 30% of all in-app sales.

Citing these rules, in December the App Store blocked an update to Coinbase Wallet that allowed users to transfer NFTs. The store insisted that gas payments (fees for processing transactions in the blockchain) when tokens are sent must go through Apple's system and the company must receive its royalties from them.

Last March, $625 million worth of cryptocurrency (at the exchange rate at the time) was stolen from Axie Infinity's gaming platform, specifically from the Ronin blockchain bridge, which the project uses. The hack was the largest in cryptocurrency history.

Axie Infinity token up 17% after game added to App Store

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