Azuki

What Is the Azuki NFT Collection?

Azuki is a collection of 10,000 unique pfpNFTs featuring generative avatar NFTs inspired by anime-style artwork. Commonly used as profile pictures in the community, the Azuki collection has a distinct art style.

Launched on 12 January 2022, the NFT collection had a mint price of 1 ETH. The Azuki mint was set up in a Dutch Auction style, with the price of the mint decreasing every 20 minutes by 0.05 ETH till it reached the floor price of 0.15 ETH. However, as the collection was sold out within 4 minutes, all 8,700 NFTs available for the mint were sold for a price of 1 ETH. An unspecified number out of the remaining NFTs were minted through the private whitelist sale, which was sold at 0.5 ETH each.

According to the website, Azuki aims to be more than just a simple pfpNFT project, but rather a brand for the metaverse. 

Who Is the Team Behind Azuki?

Azuki was created by Chiru Labs, a Los-Angelos-based team that consists of artists and developers – 2pm.flow, location tba, HoshiBoy, and Zagabond. The Azuki team faced backlash when Zagabond was named as one of the project’s co-founders, as he had allegedly abandoned 3 different NFT projects previously. Zagabond has since apologized and mentioned that he is committed to “stepping up”. 

What Is the Utility of the Azuki Collection?

Holding the Azuki NFT gives holders membership access to ‘The Garden’. This gives holders exclusive access to streetwear collaborations, early access to future Azuki projects, NFT expansion packs, and member-exclusive events like the Azuki Garden party. 

As mentioned, Azuki aims to become a brand for the metaverse, and some investors have speculated that the NFTs could later be used as avatars in-game content.

The Azuki Ecosystem

Other than the Azuki NFT collection, the team has also produced official expansions to give away to Azuki Holders. One such expansion NFT is the BEANZ Official NFT collection. On the 21st of March 2022, Azuki NFT holders were airdropped the NFT. According to the project’s official website, “Beanz are a small species that sprouts from the dirt in the garden”. The Beanz is a companion expansion as they are meant to be a sidekick to an Azuki. 

In January 2023, Azuki announced that the team is working on a gamified metaverse – Hilumia. The Hilumia City is an interactive map that teases different 10 locations that will later become unique experiences for the community.

The Azuki collection also consists of the Bobu NFT collection, which is intended to be a governance token, the native token of the Azuki ecosystem. According to the website, the Bobu NFT will be fractionalized and linked to a holder’s Twitter account. The Bobu fractions can be sold to other investors as well. 

In June 2023, the team also announced the launch of the Azuki NFT Elementals Collection. The collection consists of 20,000 NFTs, which are meant to represent the four domains of the Garden. Out of the 20,000 NFTs, 10,000 were airdropped to attendees at a Las Vegas event, while the remaining 10,000 were to be sold through a Dutch auction. During the auction, Azuki holders were given a 10-minute presale window, followed by another 10-minute window for the Beanz Official NFT collection.

The initial mint was successful, and all the NFTs were sold out within the presale period. However, after the mint, the team faced backlash as many investors felt that the elementals collection looked too similar to the original collection, causing a potential dilution through an increased supply.