From animal protector to meme coin speculator: The convoluted story of Mark Longo and PNUT.
Mark Longo's story is filled with drama and controversy. As a former mechanical engineer, adult film star, and meme coin speculator, his name has generated strong reactions in various fields. From the pet owner of the peanut squirrel to the behind-the-scenes promoter of PNUT meme coin, and to launching his own 'Justice for Peanut' coin, Longo's career trajectory seems to be closely linked with controversy, conspiracy, and speculation.
From animal enthusiast to cryptocurrency blogger.
Mark Longo initially gained popularity on social media by carefully crafting an animal enthusiast image, especially his close relationship with Peanut the squirrel and Fred the raccoon. This persona helped him accumulate a certain fan base online, with thousands of people in the Solana community following his every move. However, in October 2022, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) suddenly raided Longo's home due to his failure to properly care for his pets, leading to the confiscation and euthanization of Peanut the squirrel and Fred the raccoon. This incident raised public questions about his animal protection practices and set the stage for his subsequent cryptocurrency actions.
The rise and fall of the PNUT meme coin.
With the escalation of the Peanut squirrel incident, Longo quickly commercialized the event and launched the meme coin PNUT themed around 'Peanut the squirrel'. PNUT rapidly attracted attention from the crypto market, with its market capitalization soaring to $2.27 billion at one point, becoming a hot topic in the cryptocurrency world. It was listed on multiple exchanges, and support from large platforms like Coinbase and Binance made PNUT a popular token that investors rushed to buy.
However, the success of PNUT did not last long. After the hype surrounding PNUT, Longo began to exhibit more questionable behaviors. Despite trying to issue a cease-and-desist letter to Binance and Coinbase, claiming PNUT infringed on its trademark rights, few realized the greater speculative activities behind him—particularly his connections with other crypto projects.
The attention on PNUT not only stems from the Peanut squirrel incident itself but is also closely related to several influential figures in the cryptocurrency market, especially Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
Elon Musk's influence: Elon Musk's impact in the cryptocurrency space is not to be underestimated, especially in the hype surrounding meme coins. His tweets and actions often trigger significant market fluctuations. For example, his support for Dogecoin on Twitter caused the token's market value to skyrocket. Similarly, the launch and hype of PNUT were also boosted by the Musk effect. Longo cleverly leveraged the characteristics of social media and internet culture to attract a large number of followers, especially those cryptocurrency fans who pay attention to Musk's statements. Although Musk did not directly participate in PNUT, meme coins in the crypto market often attract investors through the celebrity effect and the power of social media, which is one reason PNUT was able to rise rapidly.
Trump's political background: Another possible factor is Trump's influence in the cryptocurrency and digital asset markets. Although Trump himself did not directly support PNUT, his political identity and influence on financial markets also indirectly drove attention to the crypto market. The deregulatory policies during Trump's administration provided ample space for many crypto projects to thrive. Coupled with Trump's personal style and market discourse power, many investors view him as a symbol of anti-traditional finance, which has indirectly promoted the rise of meme coin culture. PNUT, as a meme coin, also found its market space in this atmosphere.
The intersection of politics and social media: In the promotion of PNUT, Longo cleverly combined popular culture, social media manipulation, and the indirect influence of political figures to attract the attention of numerous speculators. Social media is not only a gathering place for investors; it is also a key channel for shaping market sentiment, hype, and traffic. Whether it's Musk's statements or Trump's policies, they have, to some extent, influenced the attention and hype surrounding PNUT.
Justice for Peanut and the ethical risks of meme coins.
Despite PNUT's reputation beginning to decline, Longo did not give up and quickly launched a new meme coin named 'Justice for Peanut (JFP)'. The launch of this coin is part of his attempt to turn the Peanut squirrel incident into a form of retaliatory marketing to gain more profit. When JFP was launched, it quickly sparked suspicion about its underlying intentions, with the blockchain visualization platform Bubblemaps marking it as a potential 'money-making scheme' and pointing out obvious market manipulation.
Moreover, some members of the crypto community pointed out that Longo had previously participated in other animal-themed meme coin projects, such as tokens named 'Ruby' and 'Jewel', which were considered 'rug pull' scams, leading to significant losses for investors.
The transformation of an adult film star: from traffic to profit.
In addition to meme coins, Longo has another lesser-known transformation - from mechanical engineer to adult film star. He attracted a large number of subscribers by creating an account on the OnlyFans platform, leveraging the persona of 'Squirrel Daddy' and his relationship with Peanut the squirrel. Longo and his wife Daniela earned $800,000 from OnlyFans in just one month, which helped them purchase 350 acres of land in New York State, further consolidating their wealth.
For a long time, Longo has continuously emphasized that he is a 'victim of animal protection'. However, through the exploitation of the Peanut squirrel incident, his actions have increasingly been viewed as commercialized hype and deception, especially in the speculative activities of the cryptocurrency market.
Market analysis of PNUT: Bubble or potential?
Currently, PNUT's market capitalization and trading volume have fluctuated significantly. Since the end of 2022, the price of PNUT tokens has experienced wild ups and downs, attracting many speculators. However, with market adjustments and more information leaks, PNUT's price has significantly retreated from its peak. As of today, PNUT's market capitalization is no longer as dazzling as it was at its peak, but it still remains a target for some short-term speculators.
Regarding the prospects of PNUT, the market is filled with uncertainty. On one hand, it gained traction through the story of Peanut the squirrel; on the other hand, its ethical risks and questionable behavior behind the scenes have kept many investors on alert. With the launch of the 'Justice for Peanut' coin, Longo is clearly continuing to exploit the tragedy of Peanut the squirrel to seek traffic and capital for his new project. This business model based on hype and emotional manipulation may attract attention in the short term, but its long-term sustainability remains in question.
As mentioned yesterday, the price support near 1 has been breached, and as of the time of writing, PNUT may continue to decline.
Long-term holding: The long-term holding value of meme coins is often difficult to predict, as their value mainly comes from community momentum and market sentiment. Long-term holding requires confidence in the development prospects of the entire Solana ecosystem, as well as continuous attention to the community activities and updates of PNUT. Without new catalysts or community activities, long-term holding may face the risk of value depreciation.
Mark Longo's story reflects an important issue in the cryptocurrency market: the meme coins often test the boundaries of traffic, emotion, and ethics. While meme coins may bring huge profits to investors in the short term, their long-term value and ethical risks are often overlooked. PNUT, JFP, and other similar projects may represent a speculative culture in the crypto market—they attract investors through rapid market manipulation and emotional hype, often neglecting the healthy development and ethical standards of the market.
In the future, how the crypto market will evolve, whether meme coins will continue to thrive, or be replaced by more solid and transparent technologies and projects, remains to be seen. Longo's story may just be a microcosm of the fluctuations.
Characteristics of MEME coins:
Community-driven: Most MEME coins have active community support, especially on social platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and Telegram. The enthusiasm of the community often drives the prices of these tokens up.
High volatility: MEME coins usually exhibit extremely high volatility, with price increases that can be astonishing, but carry significant risks.
High speculation: Although these coins attract a large number of speculators in the crypto market, their long-term value remains uncertain.