Chiru labs, a web3 startup, and ipx, a company best known for its brightly colored characters that debuted as stickers for the line messaging app, announced their partnership on wednesday. the companies plan to collaborate on content, merchandise, retail distribution, real-world activations, and immersive metaverse experiences that will initially center on the beanz nfts and line friends. ipx has evolved into a leading intellectual property (ip) brand that has formed strategic alliances with the likes of starbucks, netflix, mcdonald’s, and k-pop sensation bts. since its launch in january 2022, the azuki collection of nfts from chiru Labs has generated 470,994 eth (approximately $887,824,000) in trading volume on opensea. the official azuki twitter account was hacked in january 2023 with the intention of luring users to malicious websites.