Trading Volumes Spike on Azuki NFTs After Creator Admits to Failed Projects

Azuki founder Zagabond revealed he was part of three failed NFT projects within the past year

article-image

Source: Azuki

share

key takeaways

  • Azuki is the sixth-highest selling collection in terms of trading volume on OpenSea at the time of publication
  • Azuki founder reassured a Twitter Spaces audience that he is fully committed to building out Azuki

An anime-inspired NFT collection of avatars, Azuki, had been serving up some stiff competition among industry-leading collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and Clone X since the project’s January launch. 

The digital collectibles, whose prices are plummeting, are now at the forefront of the latest NFT (non-fungible token) controversy.

Azuki’s founder, known as Zagabond, published a blog post about his history prior to launching Azuki, revealing he was behind three NFT collections — CryptoPhunks, Tendies and CryptoZunks — that were abandoned by their founders. 

Loading Tweet..

In response, many Twitter users dubbed the projects rug pulls or scams that were never intended to be built.

One user, @sxtvik, tweeted, “thanks for informing everyone that you’re a serial rug artist, makes everyone really have a lot of trust and confidence in you!” Another user, @pana067, tweeted that any future buyers of Azuki “need Jesus.”

Others, however, defended Zagabond, such as @Loopifyyy, who said CryptoPhunks and CryptoZunks were not scams.

“If someone promises you something and then delivers on that promise, even if it’s just an NFT, they aren’t responsible for working on it anymore,” the user tweeted.

The Azuki founder addressed these concerns in a Twitter Spaces session hosted by NFT influencer Andrew Wang, explaining that these projects were not rug pulls, but rather “there was no product market fit at the end of the day.”

The founder added that any disappointment was a matter of “misaligned expectations” between creators and consumers.

He claimed that as a builder, he’s been trained to experiment and reiterate or pivot as soon as something fails or is deemed unviable, long term, rather than waste time. He admitted that he could have better approached handing off one of those projects.

“It seems that consumers still have an expectation that the team and the developers will continue to work on the project in perpetuity,” Zagabond said. “And as a creative, are you indebted to these community members and this project forever?”

As a result, the price of an Azuki fluctuated heavily on OpenSea, and its floor price has dropped from 21 ether (ETH) since the news broke to 9 ETH at the time of publication. However, volumes and transactions have increased by 998% in the last 24 hours as savvy traders attempt to capitalize on the steep price swings.


Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your email every evening. Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter now.


Want alpha sent directly to your inbox? Get degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance, can’t-miss tweets and more from Blockworks Research’s Daily Debrief.


Can’t wait? Get our news the fastest way possible. Join us on Telegram and follow us on Google News.


Tags

upcoming event

MON - WED, MARCH 18 - 20, 2024

Digital Asset Summit (DAS) is returning March 2024. This year’s event will be held in our nation’s capital, where industry leaders, policymakers, and institutional experts will come together to discuss the latest developments and challenges in the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency. […]

upcoming event

MON - WED, SEPT. 11 - 13, 2023

2022 was a meme.Skeptics danced, believers believed.Eventually, newcomers turned away, drained of liquidity and hope.Now, the tide is shifting and it’s time to rebuild. Permissionless II is the brainchild of Blockworks and Bankless. It’s not just a conference, but a call […]

recent research

Sequencers: The Key to The Rollup Investment Thesis

Research

Sequencers are one of the most explicit mechanisms in crypto for creating sustainable DAO-controlled revenue.

/

article-image

The SEC also targeted Coinbase’s staking program in a lawsuit filed Tuesday

article-image

In response to the Coinbase lawsuit, CZ tweeted, “If you have to pick a fight with everyone, maybe you are the one at fault”

article-image

Blockchain investigators can quickly hone in on useful data thanks to new filters

article-image

A rough start to Tuesday for Coinbase — its stock tanked during premarket hours in response to a sweeping SEC lawsuit

article-image

The SEC takes on the two biggest players in crypto within 24 hours

article-image

The SEC just sued Binance over alleged securities violations — now, the agency is coming for top US crypto exchange Coinbase