Azuki Elementals launch raises controversial $38 million worth of Ethereum in under 15 minutes

Azuki Elementals launch returned the spark in the non-fungible token (NFT) space lost when the bear market hit. Specifically, it recorded an amazing NFT drop, with hype and excitement that can only be compared to what was witnessed when Bored Ape Yacht Club debuted. Nevertheless, the watershed moment quickly turned sour, and now the digital collectibles are suffering the brunt of negative publicity.

Also Read: Ethereum foray into NFT inscriptions could drive ETH transactions fees higher

Azuki Elementals launch turns a watershed moment into controversy

Azuki Elementals launch, an NFT drop, made headlines showcasing 10,000 Ethereum (ETH) profile pictures. In a stunning turn of events, the digital collectibles sold out in under 15 minutes, with the project's creators, Chiru Labs, collecting a striking $38 million worth of ETH in that timeframe.

Initially, the Azuki NFTs auctioned for 2 ETH, the equivalent of approximately $3,782 at present rates. This was alongside an additional 10,000 NFTs freely airdropped to holders of the Elementals.

In a shocking turn of events, however, the artwork reveal has delivered a bearish force, killing the excitement among this group of Web 3 studio experts as they saw their artwork's floor price descend around 35% from 2ETH to 1.32 ETH, the equivalent of $2,496.

The artwork reveal marked the onset of complaints about the appearance of the Azuki Elementals. Specifically, holders say the Elementals mimic the original anime-inspired Azuki profile pictures.  

Besides this, there are several unusual imperfections with the digital collectibles, with one holder mocking how a magical wand lacks a handle.

Citing the pseudonymous Solana Legend and managing partner at Frictionless Capital on the matter:

Azuki managed to nuke the perception of the new collection and the genesis at the same time? Extremely impressive.

The similarity of the Azuki NFTs did not miss the eye of Milady Maker NFT project co-founder Charlotte Fang, who called them out for being "basically identical" to the original collection.

As negative publicity spreads, the hype around Azuki NFTs continues to subside, directly affecting their market value. Already, a section of Azuki NFT holders now wants nothing to do with the artwork, selling the Elementals at rates far below the mint price. At the time of writing, the floor price has slumped an additional 21% to the current Azuki listing price of 1.6 ETH (approximately $3,025 at current rates) on OpenSea.

The original Azuki project is also affected by this FUD, recording a 30% value slump to 9.69 ETH, approximately $18,300.

Ethereum foray into NFTs could drive ETH transactions fees higher

As reported, Ethereum has ventured into the NFT space, with alot to show for it. Besides the Azuki case, the network recently integrated NFT inscriptions, Joining Bitcoin (BTC) to allow users to create and share digital works via Ethereum transaction calldata.

  This was barely a week after Music platform Sound.xyz added support for Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) Optimism with a tribute to co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

The transaction fees are bound to increase as more transactions (representing volume) are carried out on the network. As Ethereum-based NFTs become popular, increased transactions are expected. This has a directly proportional relationship with fees. 

Notably, minting an NFT on Ethereum generally costs between $60 and $250, depending on the time of day and the stress on the network. As more users compete for inclusion in the next block of the chain, fees worsen.