If value was a competition in the NFT world, Azuki’s Beanz would be the perennial winners. While the collection isn’t necessarily the least expensive on the market, it acts as a more affordable entry into the popular Azuki community, offering owners a way to enjoy the project’s premium features at a fraction of the cost. In addition to a holders-only Discord channel in the Azuki server, Beanz holders get access to exclusive merchandise, collectible drops, and utilities within the Azuki metaverse.
For many of these reasons, and despite being a relatively new collection, the Beanz Project has become one of the most sought-after in the space. Beanz NFTs have already achieved impressive trading volume, currently holding the 15th spot for all-time trade volume in Ethereum at the time of writing and frequently ranking in the top 10 in daily trade volume.
Ready to dig in? Here’s everything you need to know about the team, the characters, and the future of Beanz.
What are Beanz?
Beanz is a hand-drawn 19,950-strong PFP NFT collection consisting of 16 types of Beanz. Each Bean has a unique set of attributes ranging from clothing, headgear, shoes, hand props, and more, for a total of 568 attributes. The most famous ones are the original Beanz members — the red bean, Toshi, and the blue bean, Gus. Others in the collection include Link the black bean, Tao the lentil, Johny C the coffee bean, and more.
The Beanz are the life of the Azuki Garden — a private virtual world where “art, community, and culture fuse to create magic” — spicing things up for Azukis with their antics. According to the project’s official website, “Beanz are a small species that sprouts from the dirt in the garden. They make for a great sidekick to an Azuki, although some like to kick it alone. They’re earnestly driven by the desire to help. However, certain Beanz feel a calling to pave their own path.”
Indeed, each has its own unique story to tell. For example, “Gus can’t seem to stay out of trouble, and “Ash is the most relaxed bean in the garden. Nothing seems to faze him, and he’s always calm in the time of chaos.”
At the time of writing, the project has registered a total traded volume of 135,199 ETH ($269 million). It currently commands a floor price of 1.46 ETH.
Who created Beanz NFTs?
The creator of the Beanz project is Chiru Labs, led by founder Zagabond and fellow pseudonymous co-founders Hoshiboy, 2PMFlow, and Location tba. The team consists of a group of Los Angeles-based artists and developers with backgrounds in crypto, technology, and gaming.
Notably, Azuki founder Zagabond was met with backlash following a May 2022 revelation that he had been behind disbanded projects Tendies, CryptoZunks, and CryptoPhunks. But, the controversy eventually benefited the Azuki collection. As criticism forced the floor price to drop, investors rushed in to cash in on the opportunity, with the Azuki community eventually growing by a whopping 1200 percent.
When was the Beanz project launched?
The Beanz were launched in April 2022, hot on the heels of the launch of the Azuki collection in January of the same year. At the onset, only two Beanz had sprouted, Toshi, the red bean, and Gus, the blue bean. They were airdropped to Azuki owners as tokens of thanks. To date, Beanz cannot be bought through the Azuki website, only from third-party platforms like OpenSea and X2Y2.
Controversy around the Beanz project
Soon after the Beanz project was unveiled, multiple Twitter users —including MetaMorphy — began to accuse the creators of fixing the mint, saying users got hold of rare Azuki Beanz even before the project metadata was revealed. Specifically, MetaMorphy points to evidence showing a buyer had sold four common Beanz NFTs and then acquired two rare Beanz NFTs above the floor price several hours before the actual reveal was made.
MetaMorphy says Bean #13716 — said to be the 37th rarest Beanz NFT — was one of the Beanz acquired through alleged insider trading. The Bean is currently valued at 5.4066 WETH and was sold for a high of 5.79 WETH.
In a Twitter thread, Location Tba denied these claims. He noted that the activity suggests the project’s metadata was leaked before it went live, and “no insider trading took place.”
What’s next?
With over a year’s worth of experience, a growing IP, and love from the community, there is no question that the Azuki team has established itself as a brand that’s here to stay. The Beanz collection has proved an important next step for the team.
Most recently, Chiru Labs announced a strategic partnership with digital IP platform company IPX (formerly Line Friends). Fans and holders can expect co-branded content and merch between Beanz and LINE Friends, retail distribution at Line Friends stores, and immersive IRL activations that combine the two worlds.
As the Azuki and Beanz communities continue to build The Garden and add layers to what already appears to be a desirable place to discover, so does the sense of belonging and shared purpose among its community members. The more The Garden grows, the stronger the sense of community becomes.
