This week’s crypto market was another mixed bag as the industry continues to navigate the continued contagion from the FTX collapse. 

Bitcoin and Ethereum again closed the week basically flat, which might be considered a win considering the losses some of the other top coins experience. As of Saturday morning, Bitcoin (BTC) was up less than 1% over the past seven days, and Ethereum (ETH) was down 1.5%. Most of the top 50 coins by market cap were in the red for the past week or, if in the green, up less than 2%.

BTC fluctuated between roughly $17,300 and as low as $16,700, while Ethereum jumped between $1,300 and $1,225 as bears and bulls fought for control. 

But a rare winner over the past seven days was Axie Infinity’s native AXS token. The token rose by a whopping 21% since last weekend and is now trading hands at roughly $8.50, per CoinGecko. 

The AXS token is used in the popular play-to-earn crypto game, where users battle Pokémon-like creatures. 

AXS is the project’s governance token, allowing holders to vote on things like how the project’s treasury should be allocated, or proposed new features in the game. The game uses another token called the Smooth Love Potion (SLP), which is used as a reward for users for winning duels. 

This week’s spike follows the launch of the project’s Axie Contributors initiative. Roughly 700 “committed” members of the community will earn formal roles within the game’s governance model as part of Axie’s push for more informed discussions about how the…