The GameFi market cooled this week after a strong start to January, as Axie Infinity (AXS) logged sharp swings and another blockchain game abandoned Web3 altogether.
Axie Infinity Pivots, Triggering Volatility
Axie plans to transition rewards to a new app token, bAXS. Source: X/Jihoz
On Jan. 14, AXS, the native token of Axie Infinity, surged to a market cap of about $230 million, roughly 50% higher than two days earlier, according to CoinMarketCap data.
The rally proved unsteady. On Jan. 15, AXS retraced more than 14%, reversing much of the earlier move, CoinMarketCap data shows. As of Jan. 16, AXS trades at a market capitalization of about $208 million.
The swings followed a Jan. 13 Discord panel in which Axie Infinity’s co-founders unveiled a major restructuring of the project’s tokenomics. Axie co-founder Jihoz said the game will begin transitioning AXS rewards into a new app token, bAXS, as part of a broader overhaul planned for 2026.
In the new system, bAXS will be earned through gameplay and can be spent, staked, or sold, but the token will initially be bound to user accounts.
World of Dypians Retraces
The WOD token lost most of last week’s gains. Source: CoinMarketCap
Meanwhile, smaller-cap gaming tokens struggled to sustain momentum.
The week prior, the market cap of WOD more than doubled, surging from around $9 million on Jan. 8 to more than $20 million on Jan. 9, per CoinMarketCap.
“This is not a simple chatbot layered on top of a game,” World of Dypians said.
“Grok becomes a real-time AI layer inside the world, designed to guide players through gameplay, exploration, events, mechanics, and progression without breaking immersion.”
Pixiland Drops Web3 Features
Pixiland has indefinitely paused Web3 features. Source: X/Pixiland
The project has halted crypto payments, NFT minting, and token rewards, citing market conditions and regulatory challenges.
“Due to ongoing market volatility, increasing regulatory uncertainty / compliance requirements, and limited remaining resources, sustaining the Web3 model long-term has become extremely challenging,” Pixiland said in a Jan. 15 X post.
Existing wPixi tokens are being converted into an in-game currency, and NFTs can be converted to off-chain collectibles. The project’s Web3 dashboard is scheduled to shut down on March 1.
The Ronin Network also hosts Axie Infinity, and both Ronin and Axie were developed by Sky Mavis.
The price of other core GameFi tokens, including Render, Immutable, Gala, The Sandbox, and Decentraland, ended the week largely unchanged.
By the Numbers
Total GameFi Market Cap: $9.35B
Top 5 GameFi Tokens by Market Cap
Most Visited GameFi Tokens
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