Azuki NFT Prices Slide 44% After Creator Releases 'Basically Identical' Elementals

Floor prices of Chiru Labs' popular Azuki NFT collection slid 44% in the past 24 hours after Elementals, the company's new NFT collection, was slammed by holders and market watchers.

The company released its latest collection on Tuesday, raking in $38 million in 15 minutes. Azuki Elementals was first teased last week at a holders-only event held in Las Vegas titled “Follow the Rabbit.”

Community reactions following the sale have a common thread: That some of the new NFTs look too similar to the Azuki collection, released in February 2022, despite Elementals initially having a different branding story.

“Azuki really sold a 20K collection at 2 ETH exclusively to their own holders extracting $40MM only for the art to be revealed as basically identical to the main collection,” tweeted Charlotte Fang, creator of the popular Milady NFT collection. “Bluechip bagholders in disbelief.”

A side-by-side comparison showed both collections displayed similar features, such as facial structure, angle and the general vibe, leading to some observers terming Elementals as a cheaper version of the main collection.

The similarities may have led to holders dumping the main Azuki collection and Elementals falling under their mint prices.

Analytics shows sales of Azuki NFTs increased almost 400% compared with last week, while prices fell from over 14 ether (ETH) to 9.7 ether in a single day. Elemental floor prices dropped 55% as presale buyers dumped the collection en masse.

Meanwhile, Azuki responded to the community backlash in Asian evening hours on Wednesday and seemingly accepted the shortcomings.

"We hear you - the mint process was hectic, the PFPs feel similar and, even worse, dilutive to Azuki," developers tweeted. "Our ambitious goals led to a new collection which confused the community on the tangible differences with the original Azuki collection."

"Azuki’s vision is to build a decentralized brand. Doing so requires great communication and execution, both of which were lacking with the Elementals sale. We know that we lost a piece of trust today, but nothing gets us more motivated to make things right," they added.