Discover the captivating story of the Azuki community, which united in a DAO to sue the founder of the Azuki NFT collection and recover the 20,000 ETH lost during a chaotic launch. A first in the world of NFTs.
At the heart of the controversy, Azuki, the famous NFT collection, triggered a revolt within its own community. A DAO was born in a hurry, carried by a voting proposal to “hire a lawyer and help the community recover the 20,000 ETH” lost during a hectic launch event. The proposal received overwhelming support from 88% of the community.
Azuki, known for its unique and innovative creations, made a fatal error during the long-awaited launch of its latest collection, Elementals. The idea was to allow collectors to consume “Elemental Beans” to reveal an Azuki Elementals with the power to control air, fire, earth or water. In less than fifteen minutes, the collection was sold out, without even giving the public a chance to acquire an NFT. The high price of 2 ETH per unit didn’t deter buyers, enabling the project to raise 20,000 ETH, or nearly 37.5 million dollars, in just a few minutes.
NFT, the Azuki community makes history!
On paper, everything looked perfect, but the reality was quite different. The mint process was roundly criticized from the outset, but it was the collection’s design in particular that aroused anger: the Elementals bore an uncanny resemblance to classic Azuki. This failure cost the Azuki team dearly. The considerable gains of nearly $40 million were quickly eclipsed by a fall in the capitalization of the main collection, estimated at $140 million. Azuki’s floor price fell from 14.44 ETH the day before the launch to 7.1 ETH a week later, a drop of over 50%.
Against this backdrop, Azuki’s DAO was born, bearing a clear message: “Hire a lawyer and help the community recover Zagabond’s 20,000 ETH”. The community, which had always supported the project, felt betrayed, getting in return only a simple profile photo similar to the original Azuki holders. Accusations of scamming and empty promises hang over the founder, known by the pseudonym Zagabond. The DAO’s proposal is to take legal action against him and obtain reimbursement for the sale.
If adopted, this proposal would enable the Azuki community to promote the growth of the entire project by using the recovered funds to reward artists, content creators and all those who actively contribute to this thriving community.
It should be noted that the Azuki DAO is not an official organization, but a spontaneous response to the collection’s chaotic launch. The BEAN token, used for the governance vote, was distributed to all Azuki collection NFT holders, giving everyone the chance to make their voice heard.
While the vote closed with an overwhelming 88% support, the outcome of this captivating affair remains to be seen. The Azuki community is writing a new page in NFT history by taking its own founder to court via a DAO. A fight for justice and restitution that could well inspire other communities in the ever-evolving world of NFTs.
