Followin' the explosive growth of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in 2021, one of the most representative and innovative projects in this space is Azuki. Azuki quickly rose to prominence with its highly distinctive anime-inspired art design and strong community culture, becoming a star in the NFT realm. However, its success was not accidental, but the result of a series of carefully designed strategies and operations. The team behind it, the project structure, and the challenges it has faced are all worth a deeper analysis. The origins of Azuki can be traced back to 2022, when an anonymous team led by the veteran blockchain practitioner "Zagabond" created the project. Their vision was to integrate NFTs with fashion culture, establishing a Web3 brand based on digital art. The name "Azuki" is derived from the Japanese word for "red bean," symbolizing the simple yet profound elements of Eastern culture. Azuki's initial NFT collection consisted of 10,000 unique anime-inspired characters, blending street fashion styles with Eastern aesthetics and personalized features. This design positioned Azuki's NFTs as art collectibles rather than just speculative assets from the outset. Azuki's success lies not only in its artistic design but also in its strategic use of NFTs as a tool for building a vibrant community. The project's Discord and Twitter channels became lively social platforms, where users not only purchased Azuki NFTs but also participated in story creation and event design. Azuki successfully transformed the concept of NFTs from simple trading to a cultural movement. Azuki has gradually built a comprehensive ecosystem, aiming to diversify its development in the realms of art, economics, and technology. After the launch of the core Azuki NFT series, the team expanded the ecosystem with the introduction of Beanz and Elementals collections. Beanz, as a "lightweight" NFT series, lowered the entry barrier and attracted more new users, while also serving as a complementary character to the Azuki brand, enhancing the community's interactive experience. However, the 2023 Elementals series became a point of controversy for Azuki, as its art style was perceived as too similar to the original Azuki NFTs, leading to criticism of a lack of creativity and concerns about the dilution of the brand's scarcity. This event had a negative impact on Azuki's brand image and prompted the team to be more cautious in their future project planning. Recently, Azuki's launch of the $Anime token has become an important addition to its ecosystem, signaling the project's foray into the metaverse economy. $Anime's primary use cases include supporting the development of Azuki's virtual world, serving as a transaction medium, and incentivizing community governance participation. Through $Anime, Azuki aims to evolve from a mere NFT project to a cultural symbol and economic system in the Web3 era. During the NFT bull market of 2021-2022, Azuki was one of the few projects that quickly gained global attention. Its floor price skyrocketed from the initial 0.08 ETH to over 20 ETH, reflecting not only market hype but also the project's inherent value. Azuki's art style resonated with the aesthetic preferences of anime enthusiasts, and its differentiated positioning from mainstream Western NFT projects further contributed to its success. Moreover, Azuki's emphasis on the "hold-to-participate" concept, where each NFT holder can engage in community governance and activities, strengthened users' sense of belonging to the project, further enhancing Azuki's brand value. Despite Azuki's remarkable success during the bull market, it has also faced various challenges throughout its history. The most controversial incident was the 2023 Elementals event, where the new NFT collection's design was criticized for being too similar to the original Azuki series, leading to discontent among existing holders. Additionally, the past experiences of Azuki's founder, Zagabond, with several failed NFT projects, temporarily raised doubts about the project's future. However, Azuki's team proactively addressed these issues through open communication and expanded community engagement, gradually rebuilding user trust. In 2024, Azuki took a significant step forward by launching its native token, $Anime, as part of its ecosystem expansion into the web3 domain. This move aims to provide users with more participation opportunities, but it also comes with potential risks and challenges. The issuance of $Anime may exert some pressure on Azuki's NFT prices, as some users may choose to sell their airdropped tokens. Furthermore, the community's high expectations for $Anime's practical applications could pose a challenge if Azuki fails to deliver on its promises, potentially impacting community confidence.

The Future of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Historical Relic or a New Revolution?

Currently, the heat of the NFT market has clearly declined, and many projects have withdrawn from the market due to the depletion of funds or poor operations. Compared to NIKE NFT RTFKY, which recently announced the termination of its operations, a few projects such as Azuki are still striving to find new value creation models. For example, Azuki is trying to combine NFTs with brand cooperation, website expansion, and hosting virtual economy and physical events, and these explorations have shown the potential of NFTs in the future.

Nevertheless, the future of the NFT market is still full of uncertainty. The flow of funds in the crypto market is shifting from NFTs to DeFi and AI-related technologies. However, as a new form of digital asset, NFTs still have the potential to play an important role in fields such as art, gaming, and brand marketing.

Does Azuki Still Have Investment Value?

For investors, Azuki's future is a focus worth watching, especially since the project has also acquired Anime.com, indicating that the project is constantly making deployments for the future. However, with the constant fluctuations in the market, investors need to pay special attention to potential risks, including the decline in NFT prices and the decline in market heat. At the same time, Azuki's ability to continuously innovate and the vitality of its community are still important factors in maintaining its competitiveness.