PENGU Token Starts on Solana

Tuesday on Solana, the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem coin PENGU released. Within hours, it was among the top 100 cryptocurrencies based on market value.

PENGU, the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem token, went live on Solana on Tuesday. It quickly became one of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The token is eligible for millions of NFT owners and traders to collect through an airdrop that has generated a lot of buzz.

PENGU is currently trading at around $0.0335, with a market cap of roughly $2.1 billion. This ranks it as the 76th largest crypto by market cap, according to CoinGecko. The coin started trading at $0.068, but it fell 51% on its first day of trade. The steep drop is indicative of the volatility often seen with newly launched tokens.

Source: CoinGecko

There is a total supply of just over 88.88 billion PENGU tokens. More than half of this supply is being used for the airdrop. Those who are eligible include Pudgy Penguins NFT holders, owners of NFTs from partnered collections, Ethereum and Solana NFT traders, and even FTT holders—the utility token of the now-defunct FTX exchange.

Based on PENGU’s current price, the full 44.8 billion tokens being airdropped are worth $1.5 billion. Claims for the tokens will be open until March 15, 2025. After this date, any unclaimed tokens will be burned, ultimately reducing the total supply available.

The airdrop went live at around 8 AM ET on Tuesday. In the first hour, over 100,000 claims were made, and the Pudgy Penguins website saw 4.7 million hits. However, many users encountered problems. Some received fewer tokens than they were supposed to, while others struggled to claim tokens at all.

The Pudgy Penguins team later revealed that these disruptions were caused by DDOS attacks. A staff member also noted that those who received less tokens can complete the claim process again to get the remaining funds. Despite these hiccups, the airdrop generated a lot of interest and participation.

According to CoinGecko, PENGU had a first-day trading volume of roughly $1.5 billion. This ranks the coin as the 14th most traded among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The high trading volume is indicative of strong interest in the token and the broader Pudgy Penguins ecosystem.

Impact on Pudgy Penguins NFTs

In response to the excitement around the PENGU airdrop, the price of Pudgy Penguins NFTs surged. Prices hit $100,000 for the first time, making the collection the most expensive profile picture (PFP) NFT collection, nearly overtaking CryptoPunks.

However, after the airdrop, the floor price of the NFTs dropped significantly. Many NFT holders sold their collections after claiming their tokens, which helped to lower the floor price. According to data from NFT Price Floor, Pudgy Penguins NFTs are now priced at a floor of around 63,000 ETH, a drop of 48% from the previous day.

The launch of PENGU has brought a lot of attention to the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem. The airdrop enlisted millions of participants, while the coin’s performance in the market and trading volume placed it among the most talked-about crypto debuts of the year. Despite the technical difficulties and price volatility, PENGU marks a major development for Pudgy Penguins, further solidifying its presence in the NFT and crypto markets.