Azuki Ecosystem Prepares for the $ANIME Launch

Last year, I wrote about how Azuki had become a contributor to Animecoin and AnimeChain as part of its Anime 2.0 project, an effort to build a new kind of open anime universe.

Unsurprisingly, I noted at the time that the rollouts of this token and network could prove to be huge catalysts for the Azuki ecosystem.

Fast forward to today, and we finally have more details on what the $ANIME token will look like.

Over the weekend, the Animecoin team announced that it would be launching its $ANIME token generation event (TGE) later this month.

As the creators explained:

"ANIME is a Culture Coin — a movement that transforms the anime fandom of 1 billion fans into a community-owned network of creativity. Where passion becomes power, cultural energy becomes real value, and the boundaries between consumer and creator dissolve."

As for the tokenomics, we know the total supply will be 10 billion, with 7.69B $ANIME circulating initially.

The token will also be launched on both Ethereum and Arbitrum and distributed as follows:

The 37.5% allocation to Azuki community holders is hearty. For comparison, 25.9% of the recent $PENGU airdrop went to Pudgy Penguin community holders.

Also notable:

• 24.44% of $ANIME will be distributed to the Animecoin Foundation to support ecosystem growth
• 13% will go to a community-managed treasury via AnimeDAO
• 2% will go to partner projects, like the Arbitrum, Hyperliquid, and Kaito communities

And while there isn't an exact launch date announced for now, there's no question the drop will be a big one.

For example, the current market cap of Pudgy Penguins NFTs is $610 million, while the new $PENGU token has already climbed to a $1.8 billion market cap—the more fungible, the more holders, right.

In kind, the current market cap of Azuki NFTs is $414 million. For a rough estimate, if $ANIME was to follow the early growth trajectory of $PENGU, then reaching a $1.2 billion market cap in its first month could be in play.

This brings us to the question of long-term prospects.

The thing about $ANIME is its creators envision it not just as a token for the Azuki ecosystem but rather as a rising community coin for the entire global anime fanbase.

That's ambitious, to say the least, but that's the Anime 2.0 master plan that's centered around the upcoming $ANIME, anime.com, and Arbitrum Orbit-powered AnimeChain pillars.

The big idea?

Make an ecosystem where fans can raise funds onchain to put toward co-creating new anime universes, so they can own the intellectual property together and profit from any related releases as a community.

We'll see how this vision fares, but there will undoubtedly be demand. There are more than 1 billion anime watchers worldwide, and the current global anime market size is more than $50 billion.

If $ANIME and its surrounding infra can make inroads here, and with anime's popularity continuing to uptrend in general, then this community coin can become a mainstay top 100 crypto for the long haul.

In the meantime, we'll have to wait and see when the launch date is announced. For now, keep your eyes peeled on the performance of the main Azuki collections ahead of the highly-anticipated airdrop.