The amount of money locked in open futures contracts linked to AXS has experienced a significant surge, reaching its highest level since February. This surge indicates a notable influx of new capital into the market.
The native cryptocurrency of Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn project utilizing blockchain technology, experienced a significant surge in value following a report by CoinDesk regarding the debut of Axie's strategy game, which is based on card mechanics, on the Apple app store.
AXS experienced a significant surge of more than 12%, climbing from $7.16 to $8.04 following a recent announcement. This surge propelled AXS to the top position on the leaderboard of CoinDesk Indices. As of the latest update, AXS is set to achieve its highest single-day percentage gain since January 22. In April, the cryptocurrency faced a decline of over 3%, marking its third consecutive monthly decrease. This decline was primarily attributed to the token unlock and a sense of caution prevailing in the wider market.
The card-based game known as Axie Infinity will be made available to Apple Store users in Latin America and Asia, including countries such as Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. This popular game, created by Sky Mavis, has already garnered 1.5 million installations across various platforms. To further extend the game's reach, the company intends to expand its accessibility to mobile users through Google and Apple platforms.
Surge in Open Interest
The surge in AXS's price was accompanied by a notable rise in the notional futures open interest, indicating a significant increase in the amount of capital locked in open futures contracts. This suggests a considerable influx of fresh funds into the market.
According to Coinglass, the estimated open interest surged to more than $75 million, up from approximately $40 million within the previous day. This marks the highest level seen since February.
Nevertheless, the balance of leverage seemed to favor the pessimistic perspective, given that funding rates within the perpetual futures market continued to display negativity. The presence of negative rates suggests the prevalence of bearish short positions in the market.
Investors may have taken short positions on perpetual futures contracts in order to safeguard their long positions in the spot market against unexpected price declines. This action demonstrates a level of uncertainty regarding the long-term viability of the price surge.
