Author: Evan Zakhary, Messari Protocol Analyst; Translated by 0xjs@Golden Finance
On December 17, 2024, Web 3 giant and popular Ethereum-based NFT collection Pudgy Penguins launched the project’s native token PENGU on Solana. The token was distributed via airdrop, and the initial centralized exchange listings were provided by Binance, OKX, and Bybit. Many OG Ethereum and Solana users showed strong enthusiasm for the PENGU airdrop, rewarding not only those who were directly involved with the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem but also long-term supporters within the broader NFT and crypto community. On the day of release, the token's market capitalization peaked at $3.5 billion, accumulating $90 million in trading volume within the first hour, thus catalyzing a record single-day trading volume on the Solana network.
Source: Artemis, CoinDesk
Fast forward to December 21, 2024. Has the storyline changed just four days later? Despite initial popularity on the day of release, some negative media coverage emerged in the following days:
CoinTelegraph emphasized that PENGU's market capitalization dropped by 50.00% after launch, and the floor price of Pudgy Penguins fell by 55.00% (from 36 ETH to 16 ETH).
CryptoBriefing.com noted that under 'huge selling pressure', PENGU's market capitalization decreased by 50.00%.
CryptoNews.com mentioned that PENGU's market capitalization dropped by 55.00% and pointed out that memecoins fell 'across the board'.
A unfortunate trader even went viral for turning a $10,000 PENGU investment into $3.00 just minutes after the token launch. The user's transaction was completed with a market capitalization of $140 trillion, a figure that would make PENGU's price about 7.00 times higher than Bitcoin's current price. Commercially reasonable searches also pointed out that as of December 21, 2024, no listed company's value reached or exceeded $100 trillion. Truly unfortunate.
Negative media coverage has cast a shadow over the community-centered vision of Pudgy Penguins, a Web3 brand with a good track record in promoting in Web 2.
While the recent negative price trends dominated discussions, the enduring strength of Pudgy Penguins' Web 3 community and its ability to connect with a broader audience remains remarkable. This narrative shift may stem more from short-term volatility rather than fundamental issues.
I personally believe that the investment thesis for Pudgy Penguins remains unchanged.
