Axie Infinity (AXS) jumped more than 15% in the past 24 hours after bulls staged a notable rebound from the $1.20 support level, driven by a spike in trader activity. The intraday surge pushed AXS closer to re-entering the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, but with market sentiment still fragile the key question remains: is this a fresh momentum play or just a short-lived “dead cat bounce”?
What’s behind today’s move
- AXS was one of the day’s top altcoin performers on February 9, 2026, posting double-digit gains that outpaced every top-10 coin by market cap.
- The rally coincided with Bitcoin holding steady above $70,000 and renewed institutional buying—most notably Binance’s reported purchase of 4,225 BTC as it moves to convert its $1 billion SAFU Fund into BTC. Other institutional purchases in recent weeks have added to overall stability, helping smaller altcoins catch a lift.
- Trader interest in AXS also jumped after Sky Mavis, Axie Infinity’s developer, unveiled bAXS—a token slated to provide in-ecosystem utility, staking and gameplay rewards, and to become the primary form of many future distributions. That announcement has excited traders and speculators alike.
What is bAXS?
Sky Mavis says bAXS will mirror AXS in core functions—use it to level up, evolve and breed axies, spend it in the game and forge items on App.axie—and over time most rewards will be paid out in bAXS. The rollout and expected rewards mechanics are a major reason for the recent uptick in interest.
Technical outlook: momentum vs. dead cat bounce
- AXS had rallied to near $3 earlier this year but plunged during last week’s market sell-off. Today’s 15%+ gain (accompanied by a roughly 250% jump in volume) lifted the token above $1.56.
- Short-term charts show a potential falling-wedge breakout while the RSI and MACD leave room for further upside—supporting the bullish case.
- But broader market sentiment remains cautious. Bears recently retested the downtrend line from highs above $4.54, and the 4-hour RSI hints that renewed selling could return.
- Key levels to watch: a breakdown below the $1.20 support could accelerate downside toward prior accumulation zones around $0.80. Conversely, a decisive close above $1.60 would weaken the short-term bearish setup and could open the door for buyers to revisit horizontal resistance near $3.00.
Bottom line
AXS’s bounce is clear and backed by volume and positive catalysts (Bitcoin stability, institutional flows, and the bAXS announcement). Still, with the market’s overall tone fragile, traders should watch the $1.20 support and $1.60 resistance closely to gauge whether this is the start of a sustained recovery or a temporary retracement.
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