Ethereum-Based Azuki NFT Sells for Record $1.4 Million

Azukies, an Ethereum-based collection of hand-drawn, anime-style profile picture non-fungible tokens, are the hottest trend in the NFT ecosystem. The project reached a milestone this week with the sale of a single Azuki for a record US$1.4 million.

Azukies comprise 10,000 avatars released by a Los Angeles-based group called Chiru Labs. Each Azuki comes with unique traits and stats, some of them being ronin samurais or skateboarders holding a boombox.

Azukies Outsell BAYC and CryptoPunks

These NFTs have garnered huge sales since their release in January, surpassing some of the biggest collections in the market, such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks in terms of sales – over US$300 million across secondary markets in February.

Azuki #9605 sold for 420.7 ETH (US$1.4 million) on the OpenSea marketplace, as revealed by Twitter user trebooomin, who said he and his friends of Red Bean DAO sold it to a buyer with the moniker Bitcoin4Freedom on Twitter:

Floor Price Skyrockets

The floor price of Azukies doubled shortly after the sale – 20 ETH (US$64,155) on OpenSea and LooksRare, as per data from CoinGecko:

While Azukies are enjoying tremendous hype in the market, their audience is not immune to malicious actors. Unfortunately, Arthur Cheong – founder of DeFi venture capitalist firm Defiance Capital – last month witnessed his Ethereum wallet being drained of his NFTs, which numbered at least 17 Azukies among other valuable collectibles worth a total of US$1.7 million.