Record sales are reminiscent of the 2021 Bull Run when NFTs were sold at record prices.
The Azuki Blue chip NFT project hoisted eight non-fungible Golden Skateboard tokens, with the lowest selling for 200 ETH, and the highest selling for 309 ETH.
The auction – organized by Chiru Labs, creators of the Azuki brand – allowed people to bid on Ethereum to secure the purchase of one of eight skateboards, and $2.5 million in ETH was raised.
The sale was announced on Azuki’s Twitter account. Skateboards are currently NFTs. However, they will be redeemable for physical versions, officially being the most expensive skateboards in history.
Previously, the most expensive skateboard was Jamie Thomas and Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind Skateboard,” which cost $38,452 in December 2012.
Azuki tweeted that, “The Golden Skateboard is a marvel of art & technology showcasing our first implementation of PBT, which paves the way for a new era of storytelling. We broke the record for the most expensive skateboard ever sold (in fact, the 8 most expensive skateboards ever sold).”
Auction Details
The highest bidder paid just over $400,000 for a skateboard, compared to $260,000 for the lowest bid. The exclusivity of the skateboard decks is guaranteed thanks to a physical chip embedded within them, which can be scanned by a smartphone to verify ownership, an experience Chiru Labs calls “scan-to-own.”
Another one that comes close is Tony Hawk’s Blackbird Board of the Beatles. It included a Paul McCartney signature and was auctioned for $27,116.
But even the combined value of the two doesn’t quite measure up to the best-selling Azuki Golden NFT skateboard, which went for an equivalent of $261,682.
Another tweet from Azuki says that, “As a web3 native brand, our vibrant community is at the heart & soul of all that we do. In bull & bear, we continue to innovate together as a community to drive the Azuki vision forward.”
Azuki Skateboard NFTs are Redeemable for Physicals
Azuki has been promoting the limited edition of Golden Skateboards, which would be redeemable for a physical skateboard painted in 24-karat gold.
The Golden Skateboards series was custom-designed, precision milled, and fully plated in 24K gold. Each board is fully functional (although use is not recommended, as it weighs 45 pounds) and depicts an exquisitely detailed golden dragon, along with one of nine unique emblems from the Azuki universe,” the Azuki website stated.
For the owners of the NFTs to redeem the physical skateboards, they would have to burn the NFTs. But the redemption can happen at any time, and the installation of the skateboards is underway.
Azuki also noted that the boards would come with decentralized tracking chip technology, and would integrate a physically backed token. The Bean Chip token can be used to claim or mint new types of tokens.
The high cost of NFTs is reminiscent of the cryptocurrency Bull Run when NFTs were selling at record prices. However, some of those NFTs that were selling for record prices are now worth just a few dollars.
Recently, YouTuber Logan Paul revealed that the Azuki Bumblebee NFT he bought for $623,000 (188 Ethereum) is now worth just $10.
Linking tokens to the sale of physical items is not new to the Web3 space. Companies have also explored the use of NFTs as a way to establish secure supply chains for physical goods.
By Audy Castaneda
