Azuki is a collection of 10,000 anime-inspired NFT characters on the Ethereum blockchain, created by Chiru Labs and launched on January 12, 2022. The project minted out in minutes at 1 ETH each, raising $29 million in its initial Dutch auction. Azuki quickly became the leading “anime PFP” project, reaching a floor price above 30 ETH at peak and establishing a strong brand aesthetic — a streetwear-meets-anime style that differentiated it from the BAYC/primate-heavy PFP landscape.
Azuki is also technically notable for introducing ERC-721A, a gas-optimized variant of the ERC-721 standard that dramatically reduces minting costs when buying multiple NFTs in one transaction. The ERC-721A contract has since been adopted by hundreds of other NFT collections.
Key Statistics
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection size | 10,000 |
| Launch date | January 12, 2022 |
| Mint price | 1 ETH (Dutch auction) |
| Mint revenue | ~$29M |
| Creator | Chiru Labs (Zagabond) |
| Blockchain | Ethereum |
| Peak floor price | ~33 ETH (~$100,000, Feb 2022) |
| Companion collection | BEANZ Official |
ERC-721A
The most technically significant contribution of the Azuki project is ERC-721A — a smart contract implementation co-developed by Chiru Labs that reduces the gas cost of minting multiple NFTs in a single transaction.
Standard ERC-721 requires separate storage writes for each token minted. ERC-721A batches these writes — minting 5 NFTs costs roughly the same gas as minting 1 under ERC-721A, compared to 5x the gas under standard ERC-721. This made batch minting economically viable during high-gas periods and was rapidly adopted across the NFT space.
ERC-721A is open source and has become a de facto standard for new NFT projects optimizing for mint costs.
The Garden Ecosystem
Azuki’s brand concept is “The Garden” — a fictional world from which the characters originate. The team released a manifesto (“A Builder’s Guide to The Garden”) establishing community values around creation and building.
BEANZ Official
Zagabond Controversy
In May 2022, Azuki founder Zagabond (anonymous, later identified as Arnold Tsang) published a blog post titled “A Builder’s Journey” that inadvertently disclosed his involvement in three prior NFT projects — Cryptoworld, CryptoPhunks, and Tendies — all of which he had abandoned, leaving investors with worthless tokens.
The community reaction was severe:
- The Azuki floor price crashed from ~15 ETH to ~7 ETH within 48 hours
- The post was framed as a “lessons learned” reflection, but was widely read as an admission of rug-adjacent behavior
- Zagabond initially defended his actions; later issued apologies
The controversy raised broader questions about founder accountability and anonymous team risks in NFT projects.
Azuki Elementals Backlash (2023)
In June 2023, Chiru Labs launched Azuki Elementals — a 20,000-piece follow-up collection minted at 2 ETH each (~$40M raise). The community reacted extremely negatively when Elementals were revealed, as the art was deemed nearly identical to the original Azuki collection with minor color palette changes. The Azuki floor price crashed 50%+ on reveal day. The Elementals launch was widely considered one of the largest community trust failures in NFT history.
Market History
| Period | Context |
|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | Mint out; strong community momentum |
| Feb 2022 | Peak floor ~33 ETH during NFT bubble |
| May 2022 | Zagabond controversy; floor drops ~50% |
| Jun 2023 | Elementals backlash; further floor collapse |
| 2024 | Floor in 4–8 ETH range; reduced community trust |