Azurbala NFTs: A long-awaited profile picture (PFP) NFT project titled ‘Azurbala’ has been delayed after the crypto community tore the video showing off its new artwork to shreds.
Crypto Twitter luminary Cobie weighed in with a comment that has now received more than twice as many likes as the original post (also known as getting ratioed):
“What on earth is this cursed shite?”
Cobie.
The Azurbala project’s pre-mint is inspired by the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and has already accumulated more than 2808 ETH (US$3.7 million) in pre-sales.
The project’s community manager, and prominent BAYC member Jenkins the Valet, responded to the criticism by saying that the mint would be scrapped and the artists would be going back to the drawing board.
Following the release of the Azurbala video, the price of outstanding Bored and Dangerous passes have dropped a little more than 50%. The floor price for a ‘Bored and Dangerous’ NFT currently hovers around the 0.24 ETH (US$318) mark, down from 0.53 ETH (US$704) before the video was released to Twitter.
While some have used the fallout to draw comparisons to the hilariously underwhelming Pixelmons release, Jenkins and the Azurbala team have seemingly embraced the criticism from the community and taken the response to heart.
Azurbala: Embracing criticism the right way
Speaking to the Chainsaw, Jenkins said that the team behind Azurbala decided to take the community’s criticism on board and plot a constructive path forward for the project.
“We handled the criticism the only way we know how to: we owned up, analyzed where we went wrong, and put forth a plan to improve. By no means are we the benchmark, but I think all founders can benefit from being accountable and vulnerable with the community.”
Jenkins the Valet, Azurbala Community Manager
“It’s important to own the blame but also not wallow in it. There’s no time to dwell on the past. We’ll use those mistakes to make sure we don’t make them again, but we’re forward looking,” Jenkins added.
And while roughly 300 members of the Twitter community lashed the project with criticism, prominent figures in the NFT space also provided their fair share of understanding and support for a team that are seeking to do better by their holders.
Partner Success Manager of NFT NYC, ‘Mr 90s Mets Kid’ said that the project handled criticism extremely well.
Azurbala is a community-generated NFT project where individual fans can contribute to the lore of the jungle-world of Azurbala as well as craft their characters’ backstory in the fictional metaverse-based world.
Notably, the Azurbala project uses a new form of intellectual property licensing pioneered by venture capital firm a16z and BAYC called “The Can’t Be Evil NFT Licenses.” According to the Azurbala Twitter, all holders have “full uncapped” commercial rights to monetise their ‘Azurian’ however they wish.
