‘It’s Not Just Hype’: How Azuki-Linked Animecoin Drop Plans To Fuel Collaboration Anime

Imagine a world where co-creating and contributing to your favorite anime series is encouraged and rewarded. Through this collaborative model, new stories have a chance to be told, new monetization strategies can emerge, and anime culture can continue to spread around the world.

This is what the Animecoin Foundation is trying to accomplish. Creators want to bring the global anime fan base on-chain to give them a more accurate picture of fan engagement and ownership behavior, which can help them develop new monetization strategies to propel their IP forward.

Today's ANIME token is just the beginning, the foundation told Decrypt.

Animecoin hype dominated the Crypto Twitter timeline in recent days, reaching 20% ​​mind share according to Kaito AI analysis. As the foundation begins to act on its plans, that activity may grow now that Ethereum and Arbitrum tokens are live.

More than half of the total ANIME token supply is dedicated to the Web3 community, and Azuki is a key contributor to the AnimeCoin Foundation at the forefront of the long-running Ethereum NFT project. The Azuki community will receive a total of 37.5% of the supply, which is 3.75 billion tokens, all of which will be fully marketable at launch.

An additional 13% is earmarked for the Community Fund, which will be managed by ANIME token holders and the upcoming AnimeDAO for community-driven incentives and initiatives.

It's a tough time to launch a coin, especially since President Trump dropped his meme coin TRUMP late last week, soaking up a lot of liquidity in the space and causing some crypto groups to postpone their drop. Even so, Zagabond, founder of the fictional Azuki and main contributor to AnimeCoin, says he's confident about the timing.

“You can't predict daily events in crypto, but you can build something real. We've spent three years developing a brand and culture around anime and Web 3 – it's not just hype,” he told Decrypt.

“With our product portfolio and passionate community, timing will be critical,” Zagabond continued. “The space recognizes projects that are here for the long haul, and that's what Animecoin is all about.”

It will be a long time coming

The Animecoin Foundation announced its formation in March 2024, but its roots go back to Azuki's mission to create an open anime universe. According to the foundation, AnimeCoin represents a token of culture and fans.

“In Web 2, hashtags spread culture; in Web 3, tickers allow fans to own a piece,” Zagabond told Decrypt.

When choosing the infrastructure for Animechain, the team turned to Arbitrum, the largest Ethereum layer-2 network by total value locked (TVL). Zagabond said the network's “commitment to decentralization and advanced technology stack make it a good partner,” and went on to point out that low fees, fast transactions, and customizable gas tokens are benefits for users.

ANIME allows owners to vote on proposals across the Animechain ecosystem, but DAOs can be difficult endeavors. They can be slow in their decision-making, and the collective wisdom of the participants does not always lead to effective results.

“I've seen how ineffective and ineffective many of the Daoists are, and I've been a part of the minority. They are drawn to performing a lot of things, so I know that,” Zagabond said.

“But the anime community is one of the most creative and passionate fans in the world,” he continued. “The Azuki community has emphatically demonstrated how community-driven events and products can help grow and scale the anime IP and brand.”

He added that the Animecoin Foundation is the manager of the Animecoin ecosystem, and helps facilitate the management process of AnimeDAO. The foundation's support team and service providers have participated in the space with other DAOs, so he believes they can take their lessons and be effective in management.

Anime 2.0

Azuki's team talks about the concept of “anime 2.0,” or that fans can actively contribute to creativity rather than simply consumers.

“Web3 allows fans to shape the future of anime they love,” Zagabond explained. “Think about community funding of canceled series or fan artists for their contribution to IP. These collaborative moments are at the core of anime 2.0.”

The upcoming Anime.com platform aims to bridge the gap between Web3 users and mainstream anime fans. The foundation integrates blockchain infrastructure with Animechain, distributes through Anime.com, and creates content and IP through Azuki.

An example of an Azuki IP is the anime “Enter the Garden” which currently has one episode. The second episode is scheduled to be released soon and will feature two of Azuki's main characters, Shao and Raiza.

Zagabond teased that the next installment will be a continuation of the mysterious legend behind Paradise. The production team is made up of anime industry veterans including series creative producer Goro Taniguchi as well as Kazuto Nakazawa, known for his anime character design work on “Samurai Champloo.”

“Samurai Champloo was a huge inspiration for Azuki, so it's truly a dream come true for our team to have the opportunity to work with Nakazawa-san and re-imagine Azuki's characters,” Zagabond said. “There's going to be some sick Sakuga in this episode, which is a change of pace compared to episode 1.”

Anime.com offers token-abstracted wallets and NFT stickers without the need for users to directly interact with crypto. The foundation plans to reward the most dedicated fans, stating that its ultimate goal is to reach 1 billion anime fans by engaging, building community, and providing meaningful collections.

“On Web3, we're used to mining for tokens for products that we don't normally use. At anime.com, I'm excited about building truly entertaining features that anime fans will love,” said Zagabond. The most important point I want to make is this—the future of Web3 is one of exciting products and rewarding real users who love those products. This is our plan with anime.com.”

As Animecoin launches, Zagabond hopes anime fans will get a vision—show they love them by helping out with funding, or be rewarded by creating art around a project and expanding the IP.

“When fans realize they can create the future of their favorite anime through Web3, they wonder, ‘Why hasn't this happened before?' they ask.” Community Owned”.

Edited by Andrew Hayward.