Ripple's Acquisition of Crypto-Focused Chartered Trust Company Fortress Trust

NounsDAO on the Brink of Treasury Division Split Amidst 'Rage Quit' Uprising by NFT Holders

What Insights Can DAOs Gain from the World of Partisan Politics?

A collective of Azuki non-fungible token (NFT) holders is currently participating in a vote to reclaim approximately 20,000 ether, just a week after the minting of the Elementals NFT. The reasons put forth for this action range from dissatisfaction with the collection itself to accusations of the team engaging in blatant scamming of buyers.

The proposal suggests that any recovered funds be allocated to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with the aim of “promote the growth of the entire Azuki community”. This would involve offering rewards and incentives to artists, content creators, and builders. As of Monday, the recently established DAO had a membership of 72 individuals, but only 36 members voted on the proposal. Surprisingly, almost 40% of the affirmative votes originated from a single holder.

Last week, Chiru Labs, the company responsible for the Azuki NFT, introduced Elementals as an extension to the Azuki ecosystem, resulting in an astonishing $38 million worth of ether being amassed within a mere 15 minutes. However, the collection faced severe criticism from both NFT holders and market observers.

The response from the community shared a common concern: several of the new NFTs bore a striking resemblance to the Azuki collection, which was initially launched in February 2022, despite Elementals having a distinct branding narrative. As a result, the floor price of Azuki experienced a significant decline of almost 50%. Recognizing its errors, Chiru Labs is currently implementing measures to rectify the situation.

However, there appears to be a group of Azuki DAO members who are seeking a refund. A proposal was put forward during the weekend, and an overwhelming 88% of voters supported a plan to return the funds that were invested in the Elementals mint to users, rather than receiving newer NFTs.

“We have provided support to Azuki during its highs and lows. We have contributed to building a sub-community and promoting the brand in various ways,” DAO members wrote in the Friday proposal. “Despite our efforts, we have only been given a similar profile picture to that of the original Azuki holders, and nothing more. The team is blatantly scamming us with empathy checks and promises.”

The members put forth the idea of hiring a lawyer to initiate legal proceedings against "Zagabond," the creator of Azuki, for purportedly engaging in multiple instances of "rug pulling." A rug pull refers to the act of a developer or creator promoting a project, such as a new cryptocurrency or NFT release, and subsequently vanishing with the funds invested by individuals.

However, there are crypto enthusiasts on Twitter who have raised doubts about the legitimacy of AzukiDAO and its intentions.

“Most Azuki holders have never heard of this group and assume it’s either fake or a group with malicious intent,” tweeted Nfty Finance founder @Tytaninc. “The token for voting was minted two days ago sooo there’s that,” they added.

In a Twitter statement addressed to CoinDesk, AzukiDAO revealed its composition, comprising former core contributors of Azuki, as well as a collective of unwavering NFT holders referred to as "diamond-handed."

The group further added its proposal may “force zagabond to do something positive.”

Source Coindesk