Azuki's Follow the Rabbit

Here's what to expect from this hype party in Vegas

Author

The Metadata
June 23, 2023

Welcome to The Metadata, the only NFT newsletter that you’ll ever need. We explain the latest trends in NFTs & Gaming in simple words — every Wed & Fri.

Today we cover:

  • 🐰 Azuki’s Follow the Rabbit is the biggest NFT event this month. We tell you what to expect

  • 👧 Elena gets stripped… WTF happened?

  • 🦍 A bunch of Bored Apes are going to get liquidated

  • 🎯 A new free mint in Web3 gaming

Market Update: Not Looking Good

Weekly NFT trading volumes are still on a downtrend, hitting their lowest levels for the year. NFT markets have been as flat as a pancake.

An index of ‘Blue-chip’ NFT prices are at their lowest in about a year and a half. The main culprit? A slump in the Board Ape Yacht Club ecosystem.

And get this: a bunch of BAYCs are going to get liquidated in the next 24 hours (see in our Favourite Tweets)

Hot tip: Until volumes start to pick up again, it’s unlikely we’ll see any major sustained NFT price movements.

Feels like NFTs are going to continue to bleed down for a while.

Follow the Rabbit: Azuki’s IRL party

Let's talk about Azuki's first major IRL event of the year, "Follow the Rabbit". It's happening this Friday at 10pm PT, which is just about 20 hours from now.

Azuki community members are flying in from all over the world to Las Vegas. The main event is happening at Hakkasan, a swanky nightclub at MGM Las Vegas.

Now, the program for the night is top secret. But with at least 20 side events happening, it's going to be a jam-packed weekend.

Aside from the partying, everyone is expecting Azuki to drop at least one major announcement during this event. What could it be? Let's do some speculating:

Possibility #1: Azuki drops a token, similar to $APE. But given the regulatory uncertainty around tokens these days, the likelihood is low.

Possibility #2: Azuki drops a new NFT collection. They have a history of doing so at live events, so this seems highly likely. Just a tip - if you're expecting an airdrop, make sure your Azuki NFTs are not tied up in a smart contract or loan or you might miss out.

Possibility #3: Azuki announces a major roadmap item that sets their direction for the next 1 - 2 years. A new game? An anime series? A TV show? Who knows? Azuki hasn't indicated a clear future direction yet, but this could be their chance.

It’s clear that people are positioning for something major to happen, with 690 active Azuki loans and 565 Beanz loans on Blend. They are the top collections on Blend right now.

That’s a good amount of leverage in the system…

🤑 ehat we think could happen: Collections usually take a hit after airdrops (just look at what happened to BAYC after the Otherdeeds launch).

Add to that the current weak NFT markets and existing leverage, and it's quite possible that "Follow the Rabbit" could turn into a sell-the-news event.

But regardless of what happens to the price, one thing's for sure: Everyone in Vegas this weekend is in for a wild ride. Azuki's reputation for throwing epic parties is second to none.

Elena Gets Stripped..

…of her Azuki “Researcher-in-Residence” position.

Elena is a popular NFT influencer with 90K+ followers on Twitter. She’s been writing daily threads on NFTs and joined as Azuki’s 1st “Researcher-in-Residence” this year.

So WTF happened? The TL;dr is that she launched her own art NFT collection on Ordinals, some selling for tens of thousands of dollars.

And it turns out that some of the art wasn’t actually made by her..it was bought/stolen.

It’s sad to see this happen to a rising star, but we think everyone deserves a second chance too.

Today's News

  • ApeCoin DAO Special Council elections voting results are out (1st round). capetaintrippy, ThreadGuy, KarmaPocket, swickie and Waabam make it to the next round.

  • Party DAO launches “Multiplayer”, allowing small groups of people to do things together on-chain. Such as ape-ing NFTs.

  • Improbable, the tech provider behind the Otherside metaverse, opens up its metaverse technology for other providers to build on

  • Gods Unchained, an NFT-based trading card game, launches on the Epic games store. The Epic store is one of the largest game platforms in the world, and it sits alongside Fortnite.

Our Favourite Tweets

🐥 A bunch of Bored Apes going to be liquidated in <24 hours when their Blend loans become due.

🐥 How to launch an Ordinals collection…properly

🐥 Why Nike is doing good with NFTs

🐥 NOR teases a trailer of the first game in its ecosystem

🐥 More NFT projects shutting down

Upcoming Mints

🍿 Dimensionals EVE will mint on 6 July. This is the 2nd collection by Minos Games, a VC-funded game studio. It will be a free mint, so follow their twitter for whitelist opportunities

🍿 Zora, an NFT minting protocol, launches its layer 2 and releases a free open-edition NFT collection. The catch? You have to bridge over to their L2 to mint this. It’s open till 7 July.

🍿 Parallel announces how you can acquire Parallel avatars. Minting will happen in July (TBC), there will be a public OpenSea drop

That's it for today folks, see you tomorrow. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@the_metadata). If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can subscribe with just one-click:

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational purposes only. None of this is financial or investment advice. It is not a solicitation to buy or sell any assets. Minting and buying NFTs is risky. Please do your own research.

That's it for today folks, see you tomorrow. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@the_metadata). If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can subscribe with just one-click:

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational purposes only. None of this is financial or investment advice. It is not a solicitation to buy or sell any assets. Minting and buying NFTs is risky. Please do your own research.