Mystery of the whale wallet holding 50% of Axie Infinity’s SLP supply

As many will be aware, Axie Infinity is currently the 2nd most popular crypto game currently on the market, just behind Decentraland (MANA).

Recently, keen crypto heads have noticed something rather surprising about Axie Infinity and its native token, Smooth Love Potion (SLP).

Play to earn has definitely been on the rise in the past year, but a headline such as this is both amusing and questionable.

Image Credits | Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity is never shy of the limelight

This private wallet has amassed a total of 22 billion SLP, with this figure set to probably go up as we draw closer to the end of 2022.

Many are bewildered by this large number of tokens, with even the Axie Infinity founders, Sky Mavis, raising their eyebrows at how on earth someone has been able to amass them.

As it stands with the new update, SLP is obtainable through completing the different game modes, daily quests, etc. With the tokens’ usage, they assist in the breeding of Axie’s and purchasing in-game items.

A maximum of 70 SLP can be earned per day in the game, according to Michael Benko, the tech co-founder of AI.

What else is interesting is the fact that SLP can only be mined through physically playing the game, which will raise many alarm bells as to the sheer volume of game time this wallet’s holder must have amassed if these funds have been obtained through legitimate means.

For those who are unaware, holding this much of a currency actually has a massive effect on its overall price performance and its future trajectory.

By owning 50% of the shares of SLP, this wallet is able to have a majority control over market trends.

“So it is a concern, if someone’s sitting there with 22 billion SLP […] they could really keep the price flat or keep the price down when it actually should, by natural market conditions, be going up.”

Michael Benko

SLP has seen dramatic price changes, sitting 99% off its all time high of $0.40, currently at $0.004, an indicator of the current crypto market winter.

Image Credits | Axie Infinity

Who has the wallet?

Now the question is, who exactly owns this crypto wallet?

After some initial inspection, it was concluded that the wallet does not belong to any larger firm.

Sky Mavis and Axie have no connection to the wallet also as members of their official have come forward denying any form of ownership.

Time has passed and Sky Mavis co-founder, Jeffrey Zirlin, has come forward stating that Binance is actually behind the holdings!

Due to the recent hack on Axie Infinity, which saw $600 million in funds lost, Binance created a Ronin bridge, which allowed users to withdraw their Axie Infinity assets through Binance.

The mystery whale has been spotted and the end result, in this instance, was good intention from an industry leading exchange such as Binance.

A change in tone from the usual crypto mysterious that seem to be plaguing the space as of recently.