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NFTs are not dead and buried. In fact, some plump little penguins have waddled back onto the scene, and they've done it in a huge way.
Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), once dismissed and nearly sunk by controversy, not only survived the NFT winter but has managed to pull off one of the biggest revivals in the crypto space.
Their meteoric comeback is thanks, in part, to an enormous new token airdrop and a brand that has spread far beyond the blockchain into physical merchandise and global retail giants.
This article dives into the story of how a simple set of NFT “JPEGs” evolved into a billion-dollar enterprise, why their native token $PENGU is making waves, and what makes this project stand out when other NFT collections have melted away.
Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) was founded by four college students in July 2021. They launched on Ethereum as a collection of 8,888 distinct, chubby penguin NFTs. Each piece was generated using more than 150 hand-drawn traits.
When the NFT craze was in full swing back then, Pudgy Penguins sold out in under 20 minutes at a mint price of 0.03 ETH (according to community recollections at the time). Demand soared so quickly that the floor price skyrocketed, eventually hitting around 2.4 ETH within a week.
The enthusiasm was so feverish that some people spent life-changing sums on rare Penguins. One famously “left-facing” Pudgy commanded a jaw-dropping 225 ETH. The frenzy also spilled into mainstream media: the project appeared in The New York Times and generated a wave of social media buzz.
But the hype wasn’t limited just to the original 8,888. The founders teased extra goodies a Pudgy video game, an educational NFT book, and an entire ecosystem. They even airdropped “mystery eggs” to holders, which promised a reveal on Christmas Day 2021.
Sadly, that reveal would not go as planned…
Despite an initial burst of success, Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) soon found themselves in the middle of a fierce storm, a period the community now calls the “Great Blizzard.” Behind the adorable profile pictures, trouble was brewing.
Community moderators and holders began accusing the founding team of misusing project funds. A high-profile mod, known as Darth, went public in December 2021, claiming he was offered only 1 ETH to keep quiet about the project’s problems. He refused. The drama spread, shaking trust among investors and fans alike.
Then came the highly anticipated egg hatch on Christmas Day 2021. Instead of unveiling some new companion creature or dynamic trait, holders discovered they had received a fishing rod NFT, humorously misspelled as “rog.”
Many felt betrayed, especially because the marketing had built up huge excitement over these mysterious eggs. A follow-up drop called Lil Pudgys (an additional collection of 22,222 smaller, equally cute penguins) didn’t do enough to quell community discontent.
The final nail in the coffin came when an anonymous NFT influencer alleged the team was planning to "rug" the project's treasury (essentially, drain the project’s funds entirely). Screenshots popped up showing desperate attempts to sell 100% equity for 888 ETH.
Confidence plummeted.
In January 2022, holders rallied with a bold plan: a community takeover (CTO) that eventually became one of the most celebrated successes of its kind. Fed up with broken promises and negative publicity, they pressured the original founders to hand over the project.
Luca Netz, an entrepreneur and self-professed Pudgy Penguin fan, stepped in and purchased the brand in April 2022 for 750 ETH. With a fresh vision and a business background, Luca quickly raised funds, reorganized leadership, and aimed to redeem Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) in the eyes of the broader NFT community.
Under Luca’s guidance, Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) transformed from a battered NFT project to a genuine cultural phenomenon. He and his newly assembled team made significant moves:
Between 2022 and 2024, Pudgy Penguins raised a total of $20 million in seed funding (a $9 million round in May 2023 and an $11 million round in July 2024), forming a new parent company called Igloo Inc., based somewhat ironically in Miami, Florida.
What started out as one NFT collection has now branched into multiple sub-collections, merchandise lines, and even games:
Beyond these NFTs, Pudgy Penguins sells physical toys, plushies, and clothing. Many are widely available across major stores, from Walmart to independent collectibles shops. Some estimate that over a million Pudgy Penguin toys have sold in just 12 months, which is a remarkable achievement for a project that was nearly left for dead just a year earlier
Nothing sparks excitement in crypto like free money, especially if it’s from a beloved brand. In December 2024, Pudgy Penguins surprised everyone by launching their native token, $PENGU, on the Solana blockchain.
This raised eyebrows since Pudgy Penguins is known as an Ethereum-based brand. However, CEO Luca explained that Solana’s community activity, combined with low fees, made it the ideal choice for reaching the widest audience possible at launch.
He also admitted he wanted to launch right away despite the team’s blockchain project (called Abstract) not being ready.
Over 1 million eligible wallets across Ethereum and Solana could claim varying amounts of $PENGU. For example, a holder of an original Pudgy Penguin NFT could claim roughly 2 million tokens, while a Lil Pudgy might net around 202,000 and Pudgy Rod holders around 81,000 $PENGU tokens.
Even long-time Ethereum and Solana wallets (created before 2024) without any Pudgy NFTs were eligible for smaller amounts.
Despite what many expected, a dump from such a massive airdrop, $PENGU soared into a multi-hundred-million-dollar market cap, topping crypto charts and making headlines.
Though the price fluctuated (as tokens often do after initial launches), it remained far more resilient than skeptics anticipated. The brand’s community and strong fundamentals kept $PENGU afloat, hinting that hype alone wasn’t driving its value.
While $PENGU is the latest headline-grabber, Pudgy Penguins has far more brewing beneath the surface. The team is actively developing multiple games, including an open-world experience on ZK Sync, a “knockout royale” style mobile game, and even a fishing game that uses those famed Pudgy Rods.
Whether these will be free-to-play with optional NFT extras or require NFT ownership to participate remains to be seen, but the overarching goal is to let people experience Pudgy Penguins in fun, interactive ways.
Even more ambitious is the mention of Abstract, a forthcoming blockchain solution (an Ethereum Layer-2) that the team plans to build around the Pudgy ecosystem.
According to CEO Luca, Abstract will focus on easy user onboarding and broad engagement across gaming, media, and e-commerce. While details are still hazy, it’s clear Pudgy Penguins wants to remain on the cutting edge of blockchain technology.
Despite their resilience and impressive brand pivot, Pudgy Penguins face several ongoing challenges:
What began in 2021 as a simple NFT mint has grown into something far bigger than cartoonish penguins on the blockchain. With strategic leadership, one of the largest token airdrops in crypto history, and an ever-expanding line of physical merchandise, Pudgy Penguins continues to beat the odds in a market many declared frozen and abandoned.
By tapping into the power of brand-building both online and on store shelves, Pudgy Penguins has shown that NFTs can move beyond speculative mania into real-world products and meaningful community-driven initiatives. The unveiling of $PENGU and subsequent resilience in token price illustrate that people see genuine potential in the brand, not just a quick flip.
Of course, countless NFT ventures have gone bust, and challenges still lie ahead for Pudgy Penguins. But so far, they have managed to keep morale high. The existence of a truly global “Huddle” hints that, even if the NFT space faces more blizzards, these penguins have already learned how to weather the storm.
