On June 27, the Azuki Elementals coin went live, causing huge fanfare throughout Web3. Billed as the next evolution of the popular anime-themed PFP project, Elementals sold out in record time, failing to make presale before all 20,000 NFTs were minted.
But perhaps it was to be expected that not everything went smoothly. From unsatisfactory coin mechanisms to a disappointing reveal, after the dust settled from launch, the investigation into the Azuki sister project became both serious and unwavering. Now Azuki has responded to the increasing opposition facing the Elementals collection.
A summary of the Elementals coin
On June 27, the Elementals coin event started as scheduled at noon ET. At that time, holders of NFTs from the original Azuki collection were given access to mint. Then, at 12:10 a.m. ET, it would be time for holders of Beanz NFTs to strike.
But seemingly due to Azuki’s failure to put a limit on the number of Elementals a single collector could mint, the full stock for the sister collection briefly fell into the Beanz storefront long before the public sale was due to begin.
While the coin received a wide range of response, with many Azuki holders happy with the procedure, countless others expressed frustration that despite being punctual, they couldn’t get an Elemental. In fact, due to the lack of a cap on individual batting, one user managed to get their hands on a whopping 332 Elementals during the pre-sale, meaning many Beanz holders were unable to bat.
Still, the public reaction to Elementals coin mechanics was just the tip of the iceberg. Because after the art was revealed, it became clear that Elementals didn’t live up to its hype. In particular, many noted that the newly launched collection had far too many striking similarities to the previous one.
The criticism that Azuki Elementals was way too close to the original collection caused a rift in the NFT space. While there was a seemingly endless stream of enthusiasts claiming that the Azuki stock had now been diluted, others began speculating about the underlying properties of the new NFTs and how the new collection might eventually become net positive for the name Azuki.
Azuki’s reaction
However, it didn’t take long for Azuki to react to both opponents and supporters of his new collection. Less than a day after the Elementals coin launched, the brand took to Twitter to address the situation. “This time we missed the mark,” Azuki wrote in a thread. “We hear you – the minting process has been hectic, the PFPs feel similar and, even worse, diluting for Azuki.”
In the thread, Azuki went on to explain Elementals’ grand vision, saying the collection was meant to “welcome new members to the community,” while also expanding the Azuki universe and enabling the creation of ” a new type of anime already in production”. .”
Even as the brand admitted its mistakes, the Azuki message ended on a positive note, with the brand stating, “We know we lost a bit of confidence today, but nothing motivates us anymore to make it right.” And to the surprise of collectors, Azuki shared an image of a green bean alongside a cryptic message, paving the way for possibly another surprise collection.
While no details about the ‘green bean’ have yet been revealed, given that beans have long been a symbol of radical change within the Azuki ecosystem, it wouldn’t take long to say that something major is on the horizon. So far collectors have speculated on one range of possible eventsincluding airdrops, complex ‘evolution’ mechanics and of course yet another PFP collection.
