Azuki ‘Proof of Skate’ Auction Draws $2.5M for NFT-Backed Skateboards

NFTs are often seen as flat images, but a bidding war broke out on Friday for physical skateboards authenticated by an embedded chip.

The auction – hosted by Chiru Labs, the creators of the Azuki brand – allowed people to bid in Ethereum to secure one of eight skateboards, raising $2.5 million in ETH. Each of the skateboards is plated with 24-karat gold and weighs 45 pounds, according to Chiru Labs, which recommends that owners not attempt to ride them.

The highest bidder paid just over $400,000 for one of the skateboards, compared to about $260,000 for the lowest successful bid. The skateboards’ unique properties are secured via a physical chip embedded in them, which can be scanned by a smartphone to verify ownership – an experience Chiru Labs calls “scan-to-own”.

The most expensive board went to an NFT collector named “dingaling,” who already has a huge collection of NFTs that includes 70 Azuki avatars, according to Looks Weird. After the auction ended, he called the Azuki community “the most degen community” he’s ever seen on Twitter.

If one of the owners ever parted ways with the built-in board, Chiru Labs says another person can scan the embedded chip to transfer ownership to another wallet. The boards represent Chiru Labs’ introduction of a Physically Backed Token or “PBT,” which links a physical item to a digital token on the Ethereum blockchain.

The company said the technology can be used to prove the authenticity of physical goods in a way that leverages blockchain technology. A “PBT” can also be used to keep track of who has owned an item in the past, which can be useful in the art world to determine a piece’s provenance.

Azuki is a top-of-the-line collection when it comes to NFTs on OpenSea, according to the marketplace’s website, ranked fifth with a cumulative value of 174 ETH or around $228,000, as of this writing. Friday’s auction dwarfed Chiru Labs’ namesake collection in terms of value.

Friday the auction is not the first time Chiru Labs has dealt with physical goods. Earlier this year, owners of Azuki avatars received airdropped tokens that could be redeemed for physical jackets, with a design that combined American and Japanese street culture.

Tokens tied to the sale of physical items are not new to the Web3 space. Earlier this year, luxury goods manufacturer Tiffany & Co. released a series of NFTs that came with gem-encrusted pendants made in the image of CryptoPunks. There was also a house in Germany auctioned off at OpenSea as an NFT. Companies have also explored the use of NFTs as a way to establish secure supply chains for physical goods.