Azuki, a leading NFT brand, announced Thursday that it has hired veteran entertainment executive Steve Chung as chief operating officer as it seeks to expand beyond digital collectibles.
Chung, who has experience working in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, will be tasked with helping grow Azuki’s fan base and revenue opportunities.
“In some ways, we live in a post-NFT world,” Jeong said in an interview with The Block. “(But) we have 50,000 amazing characters owned by individuals who are very passionate about that community, and there’s a very clear path to using that as the next vehicle to tell the story.”
Popular NFT brands like Bored Apes, Pudgy Penguins, Azuki, and others are increasingly pivoting to traditional business strategies like content creation, gaming, and merchandising, building on their popularity built largely during the 2021 bull market. With royalties to NFT creators rapidly decreasing, the need for change and transition has emerged.
Jeong pointed to Azuki. emission Discover the animated series based on the collection’s IPs and how they can help your brand break into the larger, more popular world of animation. According to Jeong, the first episode, produced with the help of traditional Japanese animation creators, has already been released. The first YouTube video exceeded 1 million views in about a month.
At one point, Fox executives said Azuki’s animated theme is what sets it apart from competing NFT brands. “What sets Azuki apart is that we are not ordinary objects or animals. We are not denigrating anyone, we have a theme. What sets us apart is our animation culture,” he said.
Steve Jeong. Image: Chiru Labs.
Last March, Azuki announced that he had teamed up with the Arbitrum Foundation on another initiative to create a web3 network targeting anime fans. Azuki was created by Los Angeles-based Chiru Labs.
Prior to joining Azuki, Mr. Jeong worked at Fox Corporation and then as Chief Global Officer of CJ ENM Entertainment, a Korean entertainment giant. According to his LinkedIn profile, the Stanford and Harvard graduate began his career at Goldman Sachs.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet delivering news, research and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor in The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the cryptocurrency space. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is an anchor LP of Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to provide objective, impactful and timely information about the cryptocurrency industry. Below are our current financial disclosures.
© 2023 The Block. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not provided or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.