Chiru Labs to launch new NFT collection, Azuki Elementals

Blockchain-based startup Chiru Labs will soon release a new NFT collection called Azuki Elementals, which consists of 20,000 NFTs. The new collection expands Chiru Labs’ previous anime-themed project, Azuki.

Elementals feature new profile pictures from the startup. Last Friday, every existing Azuki NFT holder received an Elemental token at the Follow the Rabbit community event in Las Vegas.

Despite the “surprise” airdrops, Chiru Labs has not unveiled the art of Elementals to the holders.

The remaining Elementals will be sold via a Dutch auction, with a starting price of 2 ETH (approximately $3,750) per unit.

The price will drop every five minutes as the supply goes down. The final sale price will be the ultimate price that every buyer pays. Earlier buyers will receive refunds for the price difference.

Current Azuki holders can buy additional Elementals before the beginning of the auction in a preferential sale that lasts for 10 minutes. Holders of Beanz NFTs — a spin-off of Azuki — also get a 10-minute chance to buy the new NFTs right before the public sale begins.

According to a press release, the collection will showcase a mythical landscape divided into four kingdoms. Each kingdom represents a classical element — water, fire, lightning and earth. “The Garden” refers to the broader Azuki community. This community does not only interact in the metaverse but also holds real-life events and collaborations.

Like Azuki NFTs, the new collection encompasses random attributes with varying rarity. Elementals contain four tiers of NFTs. Chiru Labs will distribute them randomly during the presale and public sale. A higher level NFT has a better chance of revealing rare traits in an Elemental, according to a spokesperson from Chiru Labs.

Despite this, all tiers have the potential to unveil “grail” NFTs. Grail NFTs feature the rarest traits existing in an NFT project. These NFTs are among the most prized ones on the secondary market.

Success of Azuki in NFT market

Azuki was one of the most lucrative NFT projects last year. Unlike other popular projects in 2022, Azuki was an original work, not a spin-off from an existing IP. In 2022, the collection topped sales from its launch in January until the NFT market crashed later in May.

Analytics platform CryptoSlam reported that Azuki had amassed more than $1 billion worth of trading as of June 2023. Beanz, airdropped to Azuki holders last spring, has racked up about $273 million in secondary sales. Crypto analysts said Azuki had done a “better job” than other NFT collections in maintaining its value.

According to analysts, Azuki’s push to pair NFTs with physical products will further leverage the project. In October last year, Chiru Labs hosted an auction that enabled people to bid for eight skateboards.

The auction amassed about $2.5 million in ETH. Bids ranged from $260,000 to over $400,000. According to Chiru Labs, there were 145 bids placed on the skateboards. The highest bidder, an NFT collector with a pseudonym of “dingaling,” called the Azuki community “the most degen community.”

The skateboards weigh 45 pounds each and are plated in 24-karat gold. Each skateboard has an embedded physical chip inside to ensure its uniqueness. Owners can scan the chip with their smartphones, which Chiru Labs describes as the “scan-to-own” experience.

Chiru Lab explained that a new owner of the skateboard could transfer ownership to a different wallet. The startup used its physically-backed token (PBT) technology to link a physical product to a digital token on the Ethereum network.

According to the startup, this technology can track past owners of the item, which helps the art sector establish an artwork’s provenance.