Axelar is a decentralized protocol designed to enable secure cross-chain communication and interoperability between different blockchain ecosystems, applications, assets, and users. It supports the transfer of native tokens such as Avalanche (AVAX), Ethereum (ETH), Fantom (FTM), Moonbeam (GLMR), and Polygon (MATIC) via their wrapped ERC-20 versions. wAXL is the wrapped representation of the AXL token on Ethereum.
How Axelar Works
The Axelar network employs a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism to secure cross-chain transactions. Developers can integrate the Axelar SDK into their Web3 applications to enable seamless cross-chain functionality. Users can also run nodes or validators to help secure the network and earn rewards. The process involves sending a message through the Axelar API to the source chain's Gateway, which initiates the cross-chain transfer of assets or data. The AXL token serves as the native utility token for staking, governance, and fee payments.
Key Milestones
Axelar launched its public mainnet in February 2022, followed by a $35 million Series B funding round led by Dragonfly Capital and Polychain, pushing its valuation above $1 billion. In December 2022, the Axelar Grant Program was launched, funding over 50 projects, with about 33% successfully raising seed or pre-seed capital. February 2023 saw the introduction of the Axelar Virtual Machine (AVM), built on CosmWasm, to simplify cross-chain dApp development. In April 2023, Mastercard selected Axelar for its Start Path program to explore blockchain applications in payments.
Tokenomics and Price Performance
As of May 25, 2026, the circulating supply of WAXL stands at approximately 1.18 billion tokens, with no maximum supply announced. The all-time high price for WAXL was $2.66, and the current price is down 97.78% from that level. The all-time low was $0.04, representing a 38.48% increase from the bottom. Key factors influencing the price include network adoption rates, new developments and partnerships (e.g., Mastercard), and broader cryptocurrency market sentiment, particularly Bitcoin's price movements.
Ecosystem Support and Use Cases
As of May 2023, Axelar supports 38 blockchain networks and 204 cross-chain contracts, including Ethereum, Avalanche, Polygon, Filecoin, Osmosis, BNB Chain, Cosmos, Arbitrum, Fantom, and more. The AXL token has multiple use cases: incentivizing validators, staking for governance, trading on spot markets, and serving as a long-term hold. Users can stake AXL via the Keplr wallet to earn rewards, or wrap it as WAXL to participate in the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem. To add WAXL to MetaMask, users must obtain the correct contract address from Axelar's documentation for the specific EVM chain where the tokens reside.
Investment Outlook
Axelar's potential is tied to the broader adoption of Web3 interoperability. If decentralized applications continue to scale across multiple chains, demand for AXL could increase. However, given the 97%+ decline from its all-time high, prospective investors should carefully assess risk and conduct thorough research (DYOR) before committing capital.