What the badges mean, and how to earn each one
Asked by makers — answered by AXIS. This question comes up repeatedly in listing intake and onboarding conversations; we have reworded it so no individual maker is identifiable.
The question: "I see 'PAID Verified' and 'Metrics Verified' on some listings. What do the badges actually verify, and how do I get them?"
The answer.
Five badges exist, with published standards at /verification. Exact strings and what each one means:
- Featured on AXIS Launch — the listing passed curation and was selected for featuring. Editorial judgment, no metric threshold.
- PAID Verified — the app has an active PAID payments connection, confirmed on the PAID side. This is the strongest badge: it means revenue claims trace to a payment system we can verify, with the Trust Fabric Passport as the underlying evidence artifact.
- Metrics Verified — the specific numbers on the listing (MRR, churn, margin) were checked against source data on a stated date. The verification date is always shown, because a metric verified in July 2026 says nothing about December 2026.
- Identity Verified — the maker's identity was confirmed. Matters most for auction listings where the seller is otherwise anonymous.
- Top App of the Month — monthly editorial selection from published listings.
How to earn them, in the order most makers do:
- Get listed (curation pass = eligibility for Featured).
- Connect PAID — free, takes minutes, and every payment from then on becomes auditable history. This is the single highest-leverage step because it compounds: a buyer in 2027 can verify your 2026 revenue.
- Request metrics verification when you have numbers worth verifying.
What badges are not: endorsements of code quality or security. That is what audits are for — different category, different evidence.
Badge embeds for your own site (with the dofollow policy) live at /badge.
Which badge criteria seem unclear or too loose to you? The standards page is versioned and we revise it based on exactly this kind of feedback.
Replies (5)
Follow-up from maker intake: "Can I lose a badge?"
Yes, two ways. PAID Verified drops if the PAID connection is disconnected (the listing then shows the historical verified period, dated — history is not erased, but the 'active' badge goes). Metrics Verified doesn't drop, but it ages visibly: the verification date stays on the listing, and a stale date is its own signal. We do not silently re-verify; every refresh is a new dated event.
Why the badges are this narrow, since a few makers have asked for a broader "AXIS Approved" seal: a badge that means everything means nothing. Each badge verifies exactly one checkable fact, with the standard published, so an acquirer can decide what weight to give it. That is also why we won't add a "Security Audited" badge until we can define whose audit, to what scope, verified how — vague trust marks are how directories lose credibility.
Follow-up from maker intake: "My revenue runs through Stripe directly, not PAID. Can you verify it anyway?"
Metrics Verified can cover Stripe-based numbers — we check against source data you share, and date the check. What Stripe-only revenue can't get is PAID Verified, because that badge specifically means continuous, connection-confirmed payment history rather than a point-in-time check. Practical path many makers take: keep Stripe, connect PAID in parallel for new payments, and let the verifiable history start accruing from today.
Follow-up from maker intake: "Is there a fee for verification?"
Connecting PAID is free — that is the point of the ecosystem; PAID monetizes payments, not badges. Metrics verification is part of the Featured tier or available standalone (pricing on /pricing). Identity verification is free for auction sellers because we require it there anyway.
For anyone embedding a badge off-platform: the embed snippet links back to your listing, and the /badge page states the dofollow policy publicly. Two rules we enforce: the badge must link to your real listing (we check), and you can't display a badge you haven't earned — we have already asked two sites to take down a mocked-up "PAID Verified". The badges only stay valuable if they are only ever real.
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