Pudgy Penguins 101: Everything You Should Know About the NFT Project and PENGU Token
Pudgy Penguins is a non-fungible token (NFT) project with one of the best comeback stories in the crypto market.
Following a community takeover and a $2.5 million buyout in April 2022, the project shifted to a user-centric approach to deliver more value for fans. Now, Pudgy Penguins ranks as the second-most traded NFT collection on OpenSea based on 30-day volume. Moreover, Web3-native licencing, community-owned content, strong social media presence, and physical toy sales have created a seamless gateway between the crypto and the real world.
In this article, we will explore Pudgy Penguins, its role as a bridge between Web2 and Web3, its eventful journey, as well as the native PENGU token.
What Is Pudgy Penguins and How Does it Bridge Web2 and Web3?
Pudgy Penguins is a fun NFT project centred around a digital collection of charming, friendly, and cartoonish penguins featuring more than 150 different hand-drawn traits - from hairstyles and accessories to clothing. Based on Ethereum, the original collection consists of 8,888 non-fungible token avatars.
By holding a Pudgy Penguin NFT, you gain complete intellectual property (IP) rights to that specific penguin you own. This means that you can use your collectible for virtually anything. Examples of such include printing and selling your own Pudgy Penguin merch, utilising your penguin on social media or for marketing, or even establishing a new business around the NFT.
In addition to Web3-friendly licencing rights, Pudgy Penguins has a strong presence on social media, with over 50 billion views globally. With millions of followers worldwide, the NFT project has been launching campaigns like Kind Pengu, which later transformed into a community amplifying positive stories deserving of the spotlight. Furthermore, Pudgy Penguins regularly hosts community events, enabling penguin holders to meet and connect in person.
The NFT project has also managed to get its physical toys in more than 10,000 stores, selling over 1.5 million plushies, pins, and figurines to kids and adults as well. Each toy comes with a digital adoption certificate that grants their owners access to Pudgy World, an immersive digital open-world environment players can explore once it launches publicly.
The Challenging Journey of Pudgy Penguins
Pudgy Penguins' journey started on July 22, 2021, when a group of college students - Cole Villemain, Clayton Patterson, as well as Mickyj and Jonah - co-founded and minted the collection of 8,888 penguins. Priced at 0.03 ETH each (worth $97.05 currently), the NFTs sold out in only 20 minutes.
Soon after the mint, the collection's popularity took off, with its floor price increasing almost a hundredfold since its inception. Rare Pudgy Penguins were sold for even more, with a buyer recently paying around $600,000 for an uncommon NFT.
But after a few months, Pudgy Penguins' activity slowed down significantly. While the core team's Lil Pudgy's partner collection was a success in December 2021, its members failed to deliver on their promises, which included a book, a game, and a native token. Consequently, holders accused the project of the misappropriation of the raised funds, with tensions rising to the highest levels after a highly anticipated Christmas airdrop only included fishing rod NFTs that were initially misspelled as "fishing rogs."
Finally, following a Discord poll in which community members voted out the founders, entrepreneur Luca Netz bought the project for 750 ETH (worth $2.5 million at the time) along with other Pudgy Penguins holders. With the goal to rebuild trust and fulfil the project's potential, the new, community-centred leadership redesigned the brand, strengthened its social media presence targeting mainstream audiences, and formed partnerships.
In February 2023, as part of a partnership with Retail Monster, Pudgy Penguins introduced its physical toy collection, which is now available globally and in stores like Walgreens, Target, Selfridges, Argos, and Walmart. Later on, the project also announced the Pudgy World metaverse, as well as the Pudgy Party and Pudgy Life games. Recently, Pudgy Penguins also launched its native PENGU token to enhance ecosystem functionality and reward NFT holders.
Introducing the PENGU Token and its Tokenomics
Launched on December 17, 2024, PENGU serves as the native token of the Pudgy Penguins NFT project that resides on Solana. Later on, the coin will also be available on Ethereum and on the Abstract Layer 2 scaling network.
While the token's real-world utility still remains a question, it is expected to foster community and project growth, as well as facilitate governance. PENGU's total supply is set at 88.88 billion tokens, from which 62.86 billion are currently in circulation. As of January 23, 2025, the coin's price has surged from the initial $0.005 to $0.0242, representing a 384% return on investment (ROI) for early investors.
PENGU's distribution looks like this:
Source: Pudgy Penguins
As illustrated above, 25.9% of the total PENGU supply is airdropped to the existing Pudgy Penguins community and 24.12% to around 5 million members who the project is looking to onboard as new ecosystem participants.
Buy PENGU on VALR
With a successful community takeover, Pudgy Penguins has evolved into one of the most popular NFT projects in the market that bridges the Web2 and Web3 communities. With the recent launch of the PENGU token and the upcoming release of the Pudgy World metaverse and two games, the project is going to have an eventful year, with much to share with its fans.
Looking to gain exposure to PENGU? Head to VALR to get started!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Pudgy Penguins is an NFT project aimed at bridging Web2 and Web3 by offering digital collectibles, community events, licensing rights, and physical toys with digital integration.
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Benefits include intellectual property rights for NFT holders, community-driven events, access to digital environments, and participation in the ecosystem via the PENGU token.
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The most expensive Pudgy Penguin was sold for approximately $600,000.
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You can buy PENGU on VALR.
Risk Disclosure
Trading or investing in crypto assets is risky and may result in the loss of capital as the value may fluctuate. VALR (Pty) Ltd is a licensed financial services provider (FSP #53308).
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions.
