Azuki community's crypto creator accused of plagiarism, work "Atomic Ordinals" to be delayed and controversial NFTs to be removed.

The NFT project Atomic Ordinals, which was originally set to launch the minting of 200 pixel art NFTs in the form of Ordinals protocol on Wednesday 21, is facing allegations of plagiarism from another Bitcoin NFT series Abstract Ordinals, created by Elena. In response, Elena has stated that she will replace the controversial NFTs and will now offer them for free instead of the originally priced up to $1,500.

What are Atomic Ordinals?

On the eve of the release of the NFT project Atomic Ordinals, Elena, a crypto artist with nearly 90,000 followers on Twitter and the creator of the NFT, Elena, was accused of plagiarism. Previously, she claimed to be the "resident researcher RiR" of the blue-chip NFT Azuki, but that narrative has since been deleted from her Twitter account.

It is understood that this NFT series consists of 200 pixel art inscriptions created on the Ordinals protocol. It was originally scheduled to be open for minting on Wednesday at Magic Eden's Bitcoin Creator Launchpad, with each piece priced individually, with the highest price reaching $1,500.

The Fine Line Between Inspiration and Plagiarism

Kemosabe, the creative director of governance protocol creator Phase Labs, tweeted on Wednesday accusing Elena of plagiarism in her Atomic Ordinals and pointing out several suspicious works, which led to Elena blocking him and raising community suspicions.

However, the artist Mulan, who was named as a victim of plagiarism, stated that she was not concerned:

But she also expressed concerns about the quality and pricing of Elena's work, stating, "A 400 x 550 pixel work, any artist knows that this file size cannot be used and displayed. Such inexperienced work priced at $1,500 is also unacceptable."

Following the incident, Dem, the community manager of the company behind Azuki, Chiru Labs, explained that Elena's contract as a researcher with Chiru Labs expired this month and will not be renewed. It was emphasized that this was not a dismissal but a mutual decision due to personal reasons on Elena's part.

Elena's Response: Facing Hate Threats, Will Replace 16 Controversial Works

In response to the various criticisms, Elena stated that she has received a large amount of hate speech and threats. She expressed her commitment to improving the quality of her work and replacing any images deemed "duplicate," announcing yesterday that her works will be completely minted for free, with the specific date still pending confirmation.

It is worth noting that the ongoing controversy surrounding Machi Big Brother has led to a show of support in Elena's tweet comments.

Although plagiarism or blatant inspiration in the NFT art market is not explicitly illegal, it is evident that she will still face public pressure and criticism from various quarters.