Second-Rarest Azuki NFT Sells for Record $1.4 Million

Azuki #9605, the second-rarest NFT from the Ethereum-based Azuki NFT collection, has reached a milestone in its first secondary sale, hitting an over $1 million mark. It sold for as much as 420.7 ETH ($1.4 million) on the NFT marketplace OpenSea on Wednesday.  For comparison, the previous record for the highest-selling Azuki #4666 was 204 ETH (about $560,000) back in January.

According to OpenSea, the buyer of the NFT was a user under the nickname “jdizzles”. The seller, “trevault,” is a member of RedBeanDAO and frequently purchases Azuki NFTs. He shared the achievement on his Twitter.

My incredible friends at @redbeandao and I have sold the #2 rarity Azuki for 420.7 ETH.

Big congratulations to Jason @Bitcoin4Freedom. Incredible purchase on the most prized Azuki in the collection. pic.twitter.com/1RQnIDW907

— tre (@trebooomin) March 30, 2022

According to The Block Research, Azuki NFTs have surpassed so far $500 million in sales volume to date on the OpenSea platform. Its top 10 highest sales range between $353,000 and $1.4 million.

About Azuki NFT Collection

Azuki NFT collection consists of 10,000 unique avatars built on the Ethereum blockchain. They give you exclusive access to The Garden, which is a “corner of the internet where art, community, and culture fuse to create magic.” The team behind the collection is Los Angeles-based startup Chiru Labs led by Arnold Tsang and four more industry experts. The project has brought together backgrounds in crypto, technology, and gaming working to build a decentralized brand of the future.

Azuki NFTs launched on January 12 at $3,400 a piece. The first batch sold out in three minutes, raking in more than $29 million. In the four weeks ended February 11, Azuki NFTs totaled nearly $300 million in transaction volume across several major NFT marketplaces including OpenSea. At the moment, the collection is one of the top NFTs in the world. Every Azuki NFT resale brings Chiry Labs a 5% royalty. That is a $15 million additional earnings only from royalties alone with the $31 million earnings made by Chiru Labs in the initial Azuki offering.

One of the main reasons why Azuki collection has become extremely popular is the high demand for anime art. Notably, Netflix Inc (NYSE: NFLX), as well as other streaming platforms, have stimulated the anime content that attracts millions of users across the globe. A prime example of this demand is the 0N1 Force NFT collection that launched in August 2021 with an anime style. Less than two weeks after the release, its average price went from about $1,500 to $30,000. Another contributor to the success of Azuki is the project’s initiatives in its roadmap. Currently, Azuki developers are planning on the expansion of its community, exploration of DAO as well as the launch of its own BEAN token.