Following a disastrous Twitter space, Azuki NFT founder, Zagabond today released an apology on Twitter. After the founder admitted to being behind three failed NFT projects, he joined a Twitter space hosted by NFT influencer, Andrew Wang on May 10. However, rather than apologising for his mistakes, the Azuki founder justified his actions—which did not go down well with the community members.
“I f***ed up,” Vagabond tweeted earlier today. “After the spaces today, I realized my shortcomings in how I handled the prior projects which I started. To the communities I walked away from, to Azuki holders, and to those who believed in me — I’m truly sorry.”
Azuki NFT Founder’s Disastrous Twitter Space: What Happened?
Recently, the Azuki NFT founder admitted he was behind three allegedly rug pulled projects—CryptoPhunks, Tendies, and CryptoZunks. Later, on May 10, Andrew Wang hosted a Twitter Space, along with Zagabond and Azuki’s Head of Growth, whizwang. While this was a great opportunity for Zagabond to come clean, he botched his chance—to say the least.
For one, Zagabond continued to defend himself and justify his actions during the space. He put the blame on the lack of a rulebook for creators to adhere to. In other words, he claimed that he was “still learning” and it was hard to know what to do.
“I’m still learning through this whole experience, everything has happened very quickly,” he said, according to the transcript shared by Ben Green. “I’ve always come from the perspective of a creator and builder who experiments and I think this whole experience has made me realize this is bigger than myself…”
Further, the Azuki NFT founder failed to apologise for his mistakes. Instead, he blamed the communities for their expectations.
“As a creator there is a disconnect between expectations for creators and consumers in this space…from a creator perspective if you create a project and deliver on everything you promised there’s an expectation that the team will work on the project in perpetuity…so am I indebted to these communities forever?”
Eventually, Zagabond claimed he will work on improving his communications. In addition, he said he will speak with the members of his earlier projects for a solution. However, ultimately, he left the space unannounced.
How did Twitter users react to the space?
Needless to say, most of the NFT Twitter community was unhappy with Zagabond’s responses to various allegations. Firstly, several users felt that the Azuki founder should have at least apologised to the members of his failed projects, especially those who lost their money.
Several others felt that he should’ve refunded the community or collectors before dropping out. Besides, some even suggested Zagabond should offer compensation now, considering Azuki’s current success.
“The Azuki spaces went about as horribly as you could [imagine],” tweeted quit.pcc.eth. “Zagabond dodged questions, made zero promises for the future, basically said “I don’t owe you anything” to the victims of his previous rugs…”
Azuki NFT Founder Issues Statement
As things took a turn for the worst, the Azuki NFT founder finally released a statement on Twitter. He apologised to the communities of his earlier projects, which he “made out to be “learnings” on the path to creating Azuki”. He admitted there should have been “more transparency and communication”.
Zagabond also admitted he could’ve handled the handovers better. On a slightly positive note, he also announced the next steps for his previous projects.
“First things first, we will hand over full control of contracts to the communities of previous projects, as well as figure out the right setup for an equitable redistribution of funds,” he wrote. He added that he will release the full, detailed plan soon.
“We will publish answers in our Discord to address the open questions from the Twitter Space within the next 24 hours,” he further wrote. “This will be a living document, and we will continue to add to it based on community feedback.”
Finally, he reaffirmed his commitment to the Azuki community. He also promised to “improve transparency and communication”. At the same time, he said that the team is setting up calls with the members to hear their concerns and feedback.
What’s next for Azuki?
Amid all the backlash, Azuki’s floor has been plummeting. Currently, Azuki’s floor is at a meager 9.3 ETH—the lowest it has been since March this year.
While some have accepted Zagabond’s apology, several others have expressed he should step down. In addition, Twitter user GHMC tweeted that the Azuki founder should refund the holders he took money from. They added that a “simple apology” won’t do justice.
“Personally I think people won’t believe a word you say, since you basically just repeated what everybody was expecting in the first place,” Tweeted W3nzel.eth. “But the market will decide.”
That said, some users are taking advantage of the drop in the floor price to buy Azuki NFTs on the secondary market. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen if the Azuki NFT project will be able to bounce back up from its current state.
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