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Classic collections from the 2020–2022 bull market
The Chiru Labs Ecosystem (Part 2 of 2)
One of the aims of Chiru Labs was to expand the reach of Azuki into mainstream media. They began this quest by creating their own anime called “Enter the Garden”, released in April 2024.
Please note this article is intended for informational purposes only. All views and opinions expressed are my own, and should not be considered financial advice. Always do your own research, and consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Since January 2022, Chiru Labs has set out to build an innovative NFT brand centred around the three pillars of storytelling, art, and community. The company is best known for its flagship NFT collection Azuki, mentioned in part 1 of this article. Its related projects including Beanz and Elementals, along with the rest of their ecosystem, are discussed below.
Their ecosystem represents a blend of high-quality design, interactive experiences, and similar to the Bored Ape Yacht Club, places a strong emphasis on empowering holders through intellectual property rights and creative opportunities.
The idea is to build an anime inspired universe that combines Web3 technology, art, and culture, emphasising inclusivity, creativity, and most importantly, innovation.
The Beanz collection is a series of 20,000 NFTs. The Web3 avatars consist of 16 types of Bean. Each Bean has a unique set of traits. These range from different types of headwear, clothing, shoes, hand props, and many more, producing a total of 568 attributes. The red bean “Toshi”, and blue bean “Gus”, are the most famous of the collection’s original members. Other members include the black bean “Link”, lentil bean “Tao”, coffee bean “Johnny C”, and other notable characters.
The collection was launched in March 2022, and followed up on the acclaim of the original Azuki NFTs in January of the same year. At the beginning of the collection’s launch, only the Beanz Toshi and Gus were available to Azuki holders. They were airdropped to them as a token of thanks for supporting the Azuki ecosystem. In this way, the Beanz NFT collection entered into the world of Web3, in a similar fashion to the 2021 Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) airdrop.
Azuki NFT holders were airdropped 2 mysterious crates for each Azuki they owned. On April Fools’ Day, holders refreshed their NFT’s metadata, only to find an image of pile of dirt. This was in keeping with an April Fools Day prank. Fortunately for the holders, two weeks later, the pile of dirt transformed into unique Beanz characters.
The Azuki Garden, a private virtual world where “art, community, and culture fuse to create magic”, featured Beanz as an integral part of the experience. According to Azuki’s official website:
While the collection isn’t particularly easy on the pocket, it provided a significant financially lower bar of entry into the Azuki community. Holders were offered a way to enjoy the project’s premium features at an appealing discount. Owners of a Beanz NFT gain access to a holders-only Discord channel in the Azuki server, as well as exclusive merchandise, collectible drops, and other utilities within Azuki’s metaverse.
Every Bean in the collection was given its own personality and story.
For many of the aforementioned reasons, the Beanz project became one of the most popular in the NFT space.
To date, prospective Beanz collectors cannot buy any through the Azuki website. They can only be obtained on the secondary market, from third-party platforms like OpenSea and X2Y2.
Beanz Controversy
Soon after the Beanz project was unveiled to the public, multiple people on X (Twitter) began accusing the collection creators of fixing the mint. One particularly vocal user called MetaMorphy, said some collectors had got hold of rare Azuki Beanz prior to the reveal of the metadata. MetaMorphy highlights evidence showing a particular buyer selling four common Beanz NFTs, and then acquiring two rare Beanz NFTs above the floor price. This trade occurred several hours before the actual reveal was made.
This claim was denied in a post on X by Azuki team member Location tba. He claimed that the activity suggested the collection’s metadata was leaked before it went live to the public. He is quoted as saying, “no insider trading took place.”
Azuki Elementals is the third NFT collection from Chiru Labs. Created in June 2023, the avatars are a series of 20,000 unique digital NFTs, which expanded the Azuki universe. The project also proved popular, selling out in just 16 minutes.
The collection features characters from the four domains of the Garden. These are Earth, Fire, Lightning, and Water.
The first 10,000 NFTs were airdropped to Azuki holders during a Vegas event for the project. The remaining 10,000 were sold at a public sale.
Beanz holders, a prerequisite for earlier minting access, minted before the public sale. Unfortunately, all 10,000 Elementals completely sold out for a sum of 20,000 ETH (Ethereum) during the Beanz mint window. This outcome had been predicted by many in the community. Much to the consternation of many prospective owners, this also meant that there would be no public sale.
The Elementals mint produced a variety of reactions. There were some who were elated about their successful minting experience. These were mostly holders of the Azuki collection. Then there were those who were deeply disappointed. Despite many being punctual, they were unable to secure a mint. One issue, was that no limits were imposed on the Elementals pre-sale. This lead to a situation where one particularly enthusiastic collector minted an eyebrow raising 332 Elementals. However, due to technical difficulties with the release of the collection, many Beanz holders were unable to mint.
Chiru Labs’ goal with the Elementals collection was to take an old school approach to character colours. Inspiration was drawn from iconic anime like the aforementioned Akira, and highly celebrated classics from Studio Ghibli. Chiru Labs stated that, “our goal was to create character palettes that seamlessly blended with their respective environments.”
Elementals was designed to be to Azuki what the Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) was to the BAYC collection. Namely, a new set of avatars inspired by the success of its parent project.
However, despite a generally successful and expensive sale, the Elementals collection wasn’t met with the same excitement similar projects had enjoyed for several reasons. The 20,000 strong NFT collection had striking similarities with its Azuki counterparts. The differences between the two collections was too slight for the tastes of the community. Further compounding the collection’s negative reception, were the technical issues experienced during the mint. As if that wasn’t enough, the launch was also tainted with questionable mint mechanisms.
The similarity of the Elementals artwork also had the effect of reducing the perceived value of the original Azuki collection.
I think it goes without saying that this was not a good look for Chiru Labs.
Unfortunately, all this drama resulted in many Azuki Elementals holders selling their NFTs. This resulted in the collection experiencing a significant drop in demand.
It should be noted that Azuki and Elemental owners had the ability to pair their Beanz to their collectible off-chain.
Similar to the previous Beanz NFTs, the Elemental Beanz collection was created by Chiru Labs. The supply of 20,000 NFTs were released in June 2023. They were an extension of the original Beanz collection. Designed to expand the Azuki lore, and introduce elemental traits related to the Azuki Elementals theme.
The Elemental Beanz collection embodies the natural forces of the Azuki Elementals NFTs. They reflect the Elementals’ connection to nature and mysticism. This collection serves as an expansion of the Azuki lore for existing community members.
The main differences between the original Beanz and the Elemental Beanz (E.Beanz) can be categorised as:
- Supply — (Beanz & E.Beanz) are comprised of 20,000 NFTs.
- Theme — (Beanz) Are described as playful, mischievous companions. (E.Beanz) Are described as Elemental-themed, mystical companions.
- Traits — (Beanz) Are visually whimsical and cartoonish. (E.Beanz) Are visually Elemental-powered designs.
- Purpose — (Beanz) Are companion NFTs for Azuki holders. (E.Beanz) Are an expansion of Beanz with Elementals.
- Utility — (Beanz) Gave access to events and integrations. (E.Beanz) Provided enhanced lore and access to ecosystem features.
- Market Entry — (Beanz) Provided an accessible ecosystem entry point. (E.Beanz) Offered a rare and themed ecosystem continuation.
The vision of Azuki’s metaverse revolves around creating an immersive digital world. The intention is for Azuki NFT holders to be able to interact, express themselves, and participate in a shared ecosystem, containing art, storytelling, and many other experiences.
Here’s an overview of Azuki’s approach to the metaverse:
The Garden
This is the Azuki ecosystem’s metaphorical hub. It symbolises a space for community members to connect, share their ideas, and grow together.
In a metaverse context, The Garden was envisioned as a virtual space where Azuki holders can:
- Exhibit their Azuki NFTs
- Participate in activities like parties, exhibitions, or gaming
- Contribute to the evolving expansion of Azuki’s lore
The Garden represents Azuki’s cultural identity and ethos, emphasising community. It’s intended to be an abstract and symbolic concept.
Hilumia
During the project’s first anniversary in early 2023, Azuki announced Hilumia, its unique virtual world. It was designed to be a metaverse that only Azuki and Beanz NFT holders would have access to, comprised of comics, animation, games, and community incentives.
It’s design boasted 10 different locations, featuring a selection of shops including a skate park. At the time of its announcement, there was no formal roadmap.
Described as “a metaverse city built by the community that houses the past, present, and future of Azuki”, it depicts a fictional city that expands the ever ambitious Azuki lore.
Both The Garden and Hilumia were designed to be complimentary aspects of the ecosystem.
Another aspect of the Azuki ecosystem worth mentioning, is Chiru Labs’ experiment in decentralized IP. Based on Bobu the Bean Farmer, (Azuki #40), in March 2022 a governance token was created.
The Bobu token allows holders the ability to vote on proposals that control the development of Bobu’s IP. The created 11,244 Bobu tokens granted access to closed Discord channels, proposal voting, and more elements within the world of Azuki.
The official page announced that Azuki #40 (Bobu), would be deposited into a fractional.art vault. The creation of ERC-1155 tokens in this vault, is designed to facilitate participation in collective governance over Bobu’s character, by all Bobu token holders.
The tokens were not designed to be traded. They were only created to be used as an internal rewards system.
One of the aims of Chiru Labs was to expand the reach of Azuki into mainstream media. They began this quest by creating their own anime called “Enter the Garden”, released in April 2024.
This was a three-part anthology series produced by a collaboration between Azuki, and Dentsu (the largest advertising agency in Japan). The creative producer for the series, anime legend Goro Taniguchi, is known for directing “Code Geass”, and “One Piece Film Red”. In the first episode ‘The Waiting Man”, there’s a portrayal of a free-spirited skater called Haru. She has always felt like a misfit in a world where she’s constantly told how to behave. One day, Haru meets the character T.K., a mysterious man sitting next to a vending machine, waiting for someone to appear.
The story develops from there.
Azuki’s anime-inspired aesthetic was already a key selling point of the original NFT collection. The anime anthology validated and reinforced this cultural identity, and solidified its brand as an anime-centric NFT powerhouse.
Enter the Garden demonstrated the commitment of Azuki to innovation and storytelling. This set it apart from other NFT projects that usually primarily focused on financial speculation.
This anime elevated the Azuki project from a digital art collection to a cultural phenomenon. It expanded its influence and created new opportunities for engagement and storytelling. It also positioned the Azuki brand as a leader in combining Web3 innovation with traditional media.
Chiru Labs are set to launch their own cryptocurrency, called the $ANIME token. The release date is penned for sometime in January 2025.
The total supply of $ANIME is capped at 10 billion tokens. The initial circulating supply will be approximately 7.69 billion tokens.
The token allocation breakdown is as follows:
- Community Allocation — (50.5%)
- Animecoin Foundation — (24.44%)
- Team, Contractors, and Advisors — (15.62%)
- Azuki Company — (7.44%)
- Partner Communities — (2%)
The $ANIME token will be launched on both the Ethereum and Arbitrum blockchains. The idea is to use these networks to leverage their security, scalability, and accessibility for holders.
Airdrops and a Yap-to-Earn program will also be utilised, to stimulate holder participation and broaden the tokens reach.
In just three years since the original collection’s launch, Azuki’s impact on Web3 has been monumental. This places Chiru Labs’ collection in the same company as both the Bored Ape Yacht Club, and DeGods.
Unfortunately, just like other prominent NFT collections over the years, Chiru Labs’ various NFT collections have faced significant challenges. These challenges have primarily revolved around the ability for traditional NFTs, to maintain their value outside of the speculative bubble that blockchain collectibles experienced in the 2020–2022 bull market.
Just like any other bubble, when it burst, it wasn’t pretty.
One thing that compounded this situation for Chiru Labs, is the fact that until recently traditional NFTs have held no intrinsic value. Once the hype with the community fades, the collections utility and artistic value, the only attributes available to assist with price discovery, proved limited in their ability to foster positive price action.
Luckily for Web3, a sustainable solution for creating growth, and an upward trajectory in the prices of NFTs has been achieved by the introduction of Liquid NFTs as an industry standard.
The Liquid NFT Marketplace is centre stage in both providing real-world value to non-fungible tokens, and the DeFi evolution. As well as introducing liquidity-backed NFTs as an industry standard, they are also taking the world of Decentralised Finance by storm. Features like obtaining loans with almost zero risk of a margin call, as well as providing opportunities for athletes, musicians and visual artists to obtain a revenue stream to enable them to effectively compete in their field, are truly game changing.
To learn more about the possibilities offered to holders of a Liquid NFT, check out 2 of my articles on the subject below:
My name is Prometheus Bones, and I’m an ambassador for the Liquid NFT Marketplace.
Any project creators who are interested in launching their collections as a Liquid NFT, please feel free to use my referral code to do so.
It will help me out greatly, and allow me to continue doing the work that I love in the Web3 space.
For my referral use the URL (link) below.
https://liquidnfts.finance/share/0xca6d817199d4bd248a53a24e17731bb8c84dab88
Also, if crypto is your thing, you are more than welcome to follow me on X (Twitter).
I am a Bitcoin Maxi, and I post quite regularly.
Many thanks.
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