On January 5th, the native token of Pudgy Penguins, PENGU, recorded a remarkable surge of 13%, solidifying its position as one of the top performers in the crypto market. At the time of publication, PENGU was trading at $0.040, marking an impressive 250% increase since its launch on December 17.
Market Cap and Large Holder Sell-Off
Initially debuting with a massive market cap of $2.8 billion, PENGU has since dipped to $2.5 billion, according to CoinGecko. This fluctuation may be attributed to the actions of some large holders who are taking advantage of the rally by cashing out.
A recent report from Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain indicated a new wallet withdrawing 84 million PENGU — worth $3.13 million — from Binance on January 4. Despite this sell-off, the price growth of PENGU remains a testament to the token’s increasing value and demand.
NFT Sales Decline
Contrary to the rising price of PENGU, Pudgy Penguins’ NFT sales have seen a significant decline over the last seven days. According to data from CryptoSlam, total sales dropped by 52%, with NFT transactions falling by 51% and buyers and sellers plummeting by 56% and 41%, respectively.
This week’s top NFT collections by sales show Pudgy Penguins’ substantial drop in sales. In comparison, Azuki saw a more moderate decline of 17.65%, while DMarket on Mythos bucked the trend with a 10.43% increase in sales.
Pudgy Penguins’ Continued Growth and Partnerships
Launched in 2021, Pudgy Penguins has grown to become the second-largest NFT collection by market cap, valued at $721 million, trailing behind CryptoPunks at $1.4 billion, according to NFT Price Floor.
The project’s success can be attributed to its innovative strategies, including viral GIF and sticker campaigns. In just the first few days of 2025, Pudgy penguins had billions of GIF views, Telegram stickers experiment sold out in record time, hundreds of thousands of new penguins with actual stake in the game, and viral Instagram and TikTok campaigns.
As community lead at Pudgy Penguins, Berko Crypto noted on January 3:
"In just the first few days of 2025, Pudgy penguins had billions of GIF views, Telegram stickers experiment sold out in record time, hundreds of thousands of new penguins with actual stake in the game, viral Instagram and TikTok campaigns."
PENGU’s Expansion Plans
PENGU currently operates on Solana but plans to expand to Ethereum and Abstract, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution developed by Igloo Inc. The token’s total supply is 88.88 billion, with 25.9% allocated for Pudgy Penguin NFT holders via airdrop claims.
While no official use case for PENGU has been confirmed, the token is expected to play a role in governance and potentially access exclusive perks within the ecosystem, according to Bybit.
Crypto trader Pentoshiteased the possibility of future airdrops for PENGU holders:
"$PENGU holders to receive Abstract (potentially another 6 fig + airdrop. You may potentially qualify by getting the Pengu holder role and Pengu enjoyer roles in the Pudgy discord."
Conclusion
The Pudgy Penguins’ native token, PENGU, has emerged as one of the top performers in the crypto market, with a remarkable 13% surge on January 5. Despite some large holders cashing out, the price growth of PENGU remains a testament to the token’s increasing value and demand.
The project’s continued success can be attributed to its innovative strategies, including viral GIF and sticker campaigns. As Pudgy Penguins continues to capture public interest, it will be interesting to see how the project evolves in the coming months.
Further Reading
- Pudgy Penguins CEO Unfazed by SEC Actions Against NFT Sector: In a recent interview, the CEO of Pudgy Penguins expressed confidence in the project’s ability to withstand regulatory challenges.
- NFT Sales Decline Amid Market Volatility: The recent decline in NFT sales can be attributed to market volatility and changes in consumer behavior.
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