From last year’s non-fungible token (NFTs) frenzy to this year’s exclusive metaverse mania, the crypto industry is the real ‘multiverse of madness’ if you ask me. Here in crypto, there’s something new and exciting every day and hey, don’t forget the good old day risk of falling for a fraud?
From here, you might expect me to break it down for you, and help you understand how to dodge this wrecking ball swinging right toward you? But, here’s the deal: just like spiked alcohol, you can’t tell if someone scammed you until you fall face-first into the toilet trying to avoid making a mess because you’re there to puke your guts out. Well, guess what, the mess is pre-made for you, for me, for all our financially over smart asses.
Now we have de-motivated and frightened you enough, let’s catch you up on wtf are these scams. Simplistically, this article, or call it a rant if you may, is about Blue Chip NFTs that should’ve come with a red alert before I asked my dad for that loan to become a billionaire!
What’s up with Blue Chip NFTs?
So, What are blue-chip NFTs you ask? You may compare a blue-chip NFT to the blue ticks on Instagram or Twitter, verifying your account’s credibility. The blue-chip status for NFT projects ascertains a well-known verified reputation for them. The industry considers these to be comparatively more established and stable and a good long-term investment. For instance, our favorite monkey project — the blue-chip NFT collections of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Otherdeed that experienced a bull amid a broader crash in the crypto market.
However, not every shiny object is a diamond, sometimes it’s just breakable glass, and in our case, it’s what we refer to as ‘rugpulls’. And this shiny glass analogy for ‘rugpulls’ happens when a crypto project launches with an elaborate long-term roadmap, and it becomes super popular with the community members’ support. And just when everyone has invested a fortune in it because they believe it’s a credible NFT project and they have now commenced building their future wealth, the NFT project founders trigger a combination of your daddy and trust issues by abandoning the project.
Hey, it doesn’t stop there. It wouldn’t be a rug pull without someone actually pulling the rug under your feet so you fall, like I said, face first. So, these founders don’t just abandon the project, they pull some serious Anna Delvey shit and run WITH the members’ funds, post the primary sale. This should be illegal. Is it illegal? I don’t know man, I am just cribbing like always.
What Happened With Azuki & Cool Cats?
Okay now that I have successfully pissed you all off, let’s gossip! First on our target list is the formerly premium NFT project — Azuki and its founder, Zagabond who recently unveiled his involvement with NFT ‘rugpulls’ in the past. Zagabond asserted that he built Azuki from the lessons he learned after three failed projects — CryptoPhunks, Tendies, and Cryptozunks.
While Azuki founder claimed these taught him “to lead, not follow”, the crypto community perceived it as the rug pulls that it was. And we don’t give a shit about his honesty because once burned twice shy, and we are currently very shy and very broke because of these rugpulls. So the crypto community walked the talk, and Azuki’s floor price witnessed a sharp drop after Zagabond’s post. Within a mere 24 hours’ window, Azuki’s floor price dropped from roughly 19 ETH ($41,800) to 8.8 ETH ($16,685). However, it managed to slightly correct itself and was trading at 14.4 ETH ($29,527) , at the time of writing.
Following this, users thought Azuki’s subsequent child collection — Beanz NFT — will become the starkid to its popular parent. Nevertheless, Azuki’s fall dragged Beanz career down with it. At the beginning of May, Beanz maintained a floor price above 7 ETH, but its current value sits at 1.72 ETH with over 15% drop in its floor price within a month’s window.
Similarly, another recent blue-chip NFT project that is now struggling is Cool Cats after the exclusive resignation of its former CEO. Neither Cool Cats, nor its CEO pulled off the rug, yet the project lost its blue-chip status. Cool Cats’ floor price was conveniently floating over 8 ETH until last month. It’s stuck at 3.8 ETH at the time of writing. While the floor was once over 20 ETH.
The Race of Relevance?
The NFT industry is ever-evolving and FOMO is what very often drives it. However, the race of relevance is catching up to become the cause of crime in the NFT arena. It is like buying into the tank tops trend just because some skinny influencer looks dope in it on the internet. But our young, dumb, and broke asses keep forgetting to be ourselves. Run with crypto, NFTs, and the web3 evolution, but don’t run after it man. It’s not a chicken and you’re not Bear Grylls stuck in an isolated forest with a camcorder. Keep it chill and stay safe!
