Author: Evan Zakhary, Messari protocol analyst; Compiler: 0xjs@金财经

On December 17, 2024, Web 3 giant and popular Ethereum-based NFT collectible Pudgy Penguins launched on Solana The project’s native token PENGU was launched on . The token was distributed via airdrop, with initial centralized exchange listings provided by Binance, OKX, and Bybit. Many OG Ethereum and Solana users showed strong enthusiasm for the PENGU airdrop, which not only rewards those with direct exposure to the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem, but also long-term supporters in the broader NFT and crypto community. On launch day, the token’s market capitalization peaked at $3.5 billion, amassing $90 million worth of trading volume within the first hour, catalyzing a record single day for Solana network trading volume.

Source: Artemis, CoinDesk

Fast forward to December 21, 2024. Just four days later, has the storyline changed? Despite the initial popularity on the day of launch, there were some negative reports in the media in the following days:

CoinTelegraph highlighted that PENGU’s market capitalization fell by 50.00% after launch, and that of Pudgy Penguins The floor price fell by 55.00% (from 36 ETH to 16 ETH).

CryptoBriefing.com noted that PENGU’s market value fell by 50.00% amid “tremendous selling pressure.”

CryptoNews.com mentioned that PENGU’s market value dropped by 55.00% and pointed out that memecoins fell “across the board”.

One unlucky trader even went viral for turning a $10,000 PENGU investment into $3.00 within minutes of the coin’s launch. This user’s transaction was completed with a market capitalization of $14.00 trillion, a figure that would make PENGU’s price approximately 7.00 times higher than Bitcoin’s current price. A commercially reasonable search also states that no publicly traded company is worth $10.00 trillion or more as of December 21, 2024. How unfortunate.

Negative media coverage has cast a pall over the community-focused vision of Pudgy Penguins, a Web3 brand with a proven track record in Web2 promotion.

While recent negative price action has dominated the discussion, the enduring strength of Pudgy Penguins’ Web 3 community and its ability to connect with a wider audience remains compelling. This narrative shift may stem more from short-term volatility than fundamental issues.

I personally believe that the investment thesis for Pudgy Penguins remains unchanged.