Pudgy Penguins Solana Token PENGU Jumps Double Digits Amid NFT SweepAmid NFT Sweep

In brief

PENGU has jumped 26.7% over the past 24 hours, as its associated NFT collection, Pudgy Penguins, has seen its floor price also climb double digits.
It comes following an unknown user sweeping 45 CryptoPunks, which has sparked interest in NFTs.
As a result, major collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club, Moonbirds, and Azuki have made double digit moves.

PENGU, the Solana meme coin for NFT collection Pudgy Penguins, is the best-performing crypto asset over the past 24 hours. It has jumped double digits amid renewed interest in the NFT market.

Late on Sunday, per OpenSea, an unknown user bought 45 CryptoPunks, which has led to the floor price for the collection to climb 16.5% on the day, according to CoinGecko. As the $10 million move went viral on social media, other traders started to take note of NFTs once again—including Pudgy Penguins.

“Hot damn WTF someone just swept more punks than I can count,” pseudonymous CCO at Memeland, Punk9059, wrote on X. “$10,000,000 sweep in one go. What’s happening.”

Pudgy Penguins’ floor price has jumped 13.3% to 16.57 ETH, or $63,154. In turn, its PENGU token has also soared 26.7% over the past 24 hours, surpassing a $2.4 billion market cap. It is now the best-performing asset in the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko, and is up 310% over the past 30 days.

Despite being an Ethereum NFT collection, Pudgy Penguins launched a Solana meme coin in December to “reach an entirely new audience,” Igloo Inc. said. PENGU has since fluttered around the top 100 cryptocurrencies, currently placed at 59th.

Bored Ape Yacht Club has also spiked 23.2% to a 13.5 ETH floor, approximately $51,410 at current prices. Predictors on Myriad Markets on Linea, an Ethereum layer-2 that the platform recently expanded to, believe that there is a 64% chance that Bored Ape Yacht Club’s floor is above 12.75 ETH by the end of Friday.

(Disclosure: Myriad is a prediction market developed by Decrypt’s parent company DASTAN.)

Similarly, Goblintown, CryptoDickbutts, Cool Cats, Moonbirds, and Azuki have all seen their floor price jump double digits over the past 24 hours.

Other NFT projects followed a similar playbook to Pudgy Penguins of issuing meme coins as interest in NFTs appeared to have waned.

DeGods notably launched a Solana token in September 2024. It’s price is down 91% from its all-time high, as founder Frank (aka Rohun Vora) stepped away from the project. Still, DeGods floor has jumped 16.8% over the past 24 hours, but its meme coin has climbed just 7%.

Rektguy, by contrast, started as an Ethereum NFT project before issuing an Ethereum token to serve as a “brand coin,” as the project pivots to selling non-alcoholic drinks. They recently made it into 7-Eleven stores. A brand coin, according to Rekt Brands co-founder Ovie Faruq, doesn’t represent any ownership in the company, but is a way to feel connected and bet on a brand.

In response to the resurrected NFT interest, Rektguy’s floor has spiked 27% to 0.64 ETH, or approximately $2,437, on the day. However, the REKT token has climbed just 4.5%.

(Disclosure: Ovie Faruq’s Canary Labs is an investor in DASTAN, the parent company of Rug Radio and Decrypt.)

On Sunday, predictors on Myriad Markets believe that there was just a 39% chance that centralized exchanges Binance or Coinbase will list REKT before September. As NFTs started to run, so did the odds that REKT would be listed which now sits at 62%.