Author: TPan Source: substack Translation: Shan Oppa, Golden Finance

Last week, in Miami During the Art Basel event, the Pudgy Penguins team announced that they will launch their own token, PENGU.

I have to admit that I was a little excited when I saw this news, and even pulled me My wife watched this video on TV together (she seemed to like it too...?). The excitement is not only because I own a Pudgy Penguin myself, but also because since Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club launched the APE token in March 2022, no other top NFT project has released a similar token. Moreover, as this project gradually transforms from a mere digital avatar (PFP) and collectibles into an ecosystem with actual value, I have been following and recording its efforts and achievements, including their GIF strategy, retail market expansion, and gradual The transformation into a hot spot for airdrops.

1. Short preparation period

Although about Rumors that Pudgy Penguins plans to launch a token have been circulating for many years. The official announcement was not made until December 5, stating that PENGU will be officially launched in 2024. As of the time I write this (December 10th), the token has not yet been launched, but will most likely be available within the next 3 weeks.

Usually, airdrops related to assets or ecosystems will have a long preparation period (months or even years), and there will be strong signals foreshadowing the token. coin launch, or by announcing a snapshot date to lock in short-term investment. PENGU, however, did not take such a route.

This triggered an enthusiastic response from the NFT market:

•Pudgy Penguins’ bottom price has increased from Around 16 ETH (~$61k) rose to 23 ETH (~$83k).

•Lil Pudgies (whose descendantscolumn) rose from ~1.7 ETH (~$6.5k) to 2.5 ETH (~$9k).

Is PENGU a meme coin, a utility token, or a cultural token? currency?

It seems that it is a combination of the above three and may take on more roles in the future. Currently, it is described as the official token of Pudgy Penguins, serving the NFT project positioned as a “face to cryptocurrency.”

While self-proclaimed "cryptocurrency facade" is a subjective statement, Pudgy Penguins does have a solid foundation to back up this claim:

•34 billion GIF views: Almost everyone has seen a Pudgy Penguins GIF;

•1.6 million Instagram Followers: Cute and relatable content;

•522,000 TikTok main account followers, and 1.1 million Pudgy Kindness account followers;

•More than 1.5 million Pudgy toys have been sold worldwide and can be found at retailers including Walmart, Target and Amazon.

For those new to cryptocurrencies, PENGU offers a new way, Pudgy Penguins fans can build a deeper connection with the characters, brand and intellectual property (IP), no longer limited to buying toys or interacting with content.

This is consistent with the point I made earlier about "cryptocurrencies being better stocks". Holding PENGU tokens can be viewed as becoming an owner or stakeholder in the Pudgy Penguins brand in a new way, much like purchasing shares in a company has a similar meaning.

For some, this is an investment; for others,It’s one way to express fandom; or both. Additionally, as the brand grows, the token’s uses may expand further.

The decision to initially issue the PENGU token on the Solana chain sparked some confusion and early criticism. Considering Pudgy Penguins is currently based on Ethereum, and its parent company The Igloo, Inc. plans to launch its own Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain, Abstract, why not wait until Abstract is ready before releasing it?

Here are the thoughts shared by the team at Inner Igloo, a bi-weekly discussion for Pudgy NFT holders:

1. Open up new user groups: Solana ecosystem has not yet been exposed to Pudgy Penguins, this is a great way to cross-promote and attract more PENGU holders;

2. Cater to Solana’s culture: Solana is famous for meme currency trading, and tokens like PENGU are likely to be warmly welcomed;

3. Technical maturity: If the timing Granted, PENGU may launch on Abstract, but the blockchain is not ready yet, and the team believes the token should not force a rush to launch. The option to cross-chain PENGU to Abstract (and other blockchains) will be available in the future.

Pudgy Penguins presents its token economic model in a new and interesting way instead of the traditional 20-page white paper and pie chart.

This cute style embodies the Pudgy Penguins brand identity.

•Total supply: 88,888,888,888 (8.89 billion pieces) to the original Pudgy Penguins series 8,888 NFT tribute;

•Claim deadline: 88 days.

Two of the allocation details are particularly eye-catching:

1. Other communities:

Approximately 24% of tokens will be allocated to "other communities", which is comparable to the proportion allocated to the Pudgy holder community (approximately 26%).

On the surface, this may seem unfair to the Pudgy community, but the distribution scope explains the decision:

•Pudgy holder allocation will reach approximately 15,000 wallets;

•Other community allocation will be available to approximately 5 million wallets.

This is in stark contrast to 6th Man Ventures’ analysis of token design and distribution, which found that compared to airdrops focused on core users, large Scale airdrops tend to perform worse.

2. Positioning for mainstream consumers:

Unlike most infrastructure or DeFi tokens, PENGU is more like a cultural token or meme coin. This positioning is highly consistent with Pudgy Penguins’ strategy for the mainstream consumer market.

Although the specific list of "other communities" has not yet been announced (it may not be announced until after the token is launched), there have been some hints and speculations, such as two Mainstream products Phantom and Moonshot have been replaced with Pudgy Penguins style avatars.

The two apps posted Pudgy-branded content just eight minutes apart on Saturday morning . Is this a coincidence? I don't think so.

If Pudgy Penguins wants to become the face of crypto, contact Phantomand Moonshot's user base is certainly a smart move.

Another group of communities that may become PENGU airdrop recipients are those projects that have provided airdrops or privileges to the Pudgy community. Over the years, dozens of projects and ecosystems have shown goodwill to the Pudgy community, and PENGU may be a way for Pudgy Penguins to give back to them.

In addition, at the Inner Igloo event, Luca mentioned the issues related to token distribution. Another highlight: Consumers who purchase a Pudgy toy and register for Pudgy World by scanning the toy will also receive a PENGU. This is another way to bring new audiences on-chain.

Public Good)

The part of the allocation that interests me the most is the "Public Benefit" which will receive 4% of the token supply.

Currently, cryptocurrencies and Web3 are still generally viewed as gambling by the general public , virtual currency, scam, or something confusing. However, understanding the deeper meanings of cryptocurrencies and Web3 requires curiosity, patience, and an open mind—they go far beyond these negative impressions, and there are many positives.

One ​​of those is charity, and Pudgy Penguins is practicing that in its own way.

Take Pudgy Kindness’ TikTok account as an example. It has only posted 11 videos but has accumulated 1.1 million fans. This account focuses on different content creators and the stories behind them. For example, creator Bill (of Fishing With “Oh Dad!”) whose channel went viral 3 weeks ago went from 1,300 subscribers to 1.5 million thanks to a touching video posted by Pudgy Kindness.

With the introduction of tokens, projects like Pudgy Kindness will move to the next level. I'm excited to see how it expands in the future.

This kind of effort usually doesn’t get the immediate recognition it deserves because it doesn’t directly increase the price of the token or “boost the value of the asset.” However, in the long term, it can generate goodwill and have the potential to change the public's perception of cryptocurrencies, especially when such efforts come from a "cute, fat flightless bird" known as the face of cryptocurrencies. .