Smooth Love Potion (SLP) is the in-game resource token of Axie Infinity, earned through regular gameplay and consumed to breed new Axies (the NFT creatures in the game) — making SLP the primary economic output for players in Sky Mavis’s play-to-earn model, particularly during the 2021 play-to-earn boom when scholars in developing countries earned meaningful income through SLP farming.
How It Works
- Earning SLP — Players earn SLP by completing daily quests, winning adventure mode stages, and winning ranked arena battles. SLP rewards per battle vary by rank and opponent.
- Spending SLP — Breeding Axies costs SLP plus AXS (Axie’s governance token). The SLP cost per breed increases with the number of times an Axie has been bred (to reduce supply inflation).
- Burning mechanics — SLP used in breeding is burned (destroyed), creating a deflationary force against the continuous issuance from gameplay.
- Ronin sidechain — Axie Infinity migrated to Ronin, Sky Mavis’s dedicated Ethereum sidechain, in April 2021 to reduce transaction fees. SLP on Ronin is bridgeable to Ethereum.
- Unlimited supply — SLP has no maximum supply. It is minted with every gameplay reward and burned with every breed. Supply is determined by net play/breed activity.
Tokenomics
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | SLP |
| Max Supply | None (inflationary, offset by breeding burns) |
| Earning | In-game rewards (quests, battles) |
| Consumption | Axie breeding (burned) |
| Chain | Ronin (primary) / Ethereum (bridge) |
| Launch | July 24, 2020 |
Use Cases
- Axie breeding — Primary sink for SLP; burn SLP + AXS to breed new Axie NFTs with inherited traits.
- Play-to-earn income — During the 2021 boom, players (especially in Philippines, Venezuela, Indonesia) earned SLP as a significant income source.
- Trading — SLP is listed on major exchanges and traded for profit by players and speculators.
History
- 2018 — Sky Mavis (founded by Trung Nguyen) begins developing Axie Infinity. NFT-based gameplay on Ethereum.
- 2020-07-24 — Smooth Love Potion (originally “Small Love Potion”) is introduced as the in-game token. Players earn SLP to breed Axies.
- 2021 Q1 — Axie Infinity explodes in popularity, particularly in Southeast Asia and Latin America. SLP price rises dramatically. “Scholar” programs emerge where NFT owners lend Axies to players who share SLP earnings.
- 2021-04 — Axie Infinity migrates to Ronin sidechain, reducing gas fees for SLP transactions.
- 2021 Q3–Q4 — SLP peaks at approximately $0.35. Player earnings at peak represent significant income for many in developing economies. AXS peaks above $150.
- 2022-03 — Ronin bridge is hacked by the Lazarus Group (North Korean state hackers), resulting in $625 million stolen — one of crypto’s largest hacks. Axie Infinity’s ecosystem is severely damaged.
- 2022 — SLP price collapses 95%+ from peak. The play-to-earn model struggles with hyperinflation as breeding creates more Axies faster than demand for them grows. Earnings for scholars drop to near zero.
- 2023–2024 — Sky Mavis rebuilds Ronin, relaunches games, and pivots toward broader Ronin ecosystem gaming to diversify beyond Axie Infinity.
Common Misconceptions
“SLP has a fixed supply like Bitcoin.”
SLP has no maximum supply. It is minted continuously through gameplay and burned through breeding. The equilibrium depends entirely on player activity ratios.
“The Ronin hack affected SLP directly.”
The Ronin hack affected RON (Ronin’s native token) and the bridge, not SLP’s contract. However, the ecosystem damage indirectly destroyed SLP’s price and the play-to-earn model’s viability.
Social Media Sentiment
SLP sparked global attention during 2021 as part of the play-to-earn revolution and one of the most prominent real-world income stories in crypto (Philippines, Venezuela). Post-hack and post-bubble, sentiment is significantly negative. SLP is frequently cited as a cautionary example of inflationary play-to-earn tokenomics.
Last updated: 2026-04