From community crisis to global brand, how did Pudgy Penguins turn around and become an NFT legend?

A brief history of Pudgy Penguins:

Pudgy Penguins is an iconic NFT project launched on the Ethereum network in July 2021, with a total of 8888 unique cartoon penguin NFT collections, each NFT having random features generated by up to 150 hand-drawn components. These penguins are all different as they can have up to 5 randomly generated unique characteristics, including special backgrounds, body types, shirts and accessories. Pudgy Penguins With its unique artistic style and community power, the project quickly became one of the stars of the NFT craze.

In the early days of the project, Pudgy Penguins was launched in July 2021 by X user ColeThereum and anonymous users Mr. Tubby, Mickyj, and Jonah. But as it developed, the project's governance issues led to a crisis of trust. It is alleged that the initial founders allegedly stole funds allocated for the development of the project. Doubts about the integrity of the project founders have seriously affected the value of Pudgy Penguins.

In early 2022, the NFT community pushed for a change of team. Community member Luca Netz took over the project at a price of 750 ETH and served as CEO, giving Pudgy Penguins a new direction. The new team members include Chief Marketing Officer Nicholas Ravid , Chief Technology Officer Lorenzo Melendez , Chief Creative Officer Peter Lobanov , and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Kaizu . The new team is committed to building it into a global brand, focusing on IP development and cross-domain collaborations such as toys, animation and Metaverse projects.

Pudgy Penguins Ecology

Pudgy Penguins ' brand expansion strategy revolves around digital IP and achieves diversified development through cross-field integration. The project is not limited to the NFT market, but also extends the brand in multiple fields.

Pudgy Toys

Pudgy Penguins launches Pudgy Toys, a line of physical toys, the first commercial product licensed directly from the community. Released on May 18, 2023, as an extension of NFT, targeted at children and collection enthusiasts. Pudgy Toys is not only extremely cute, but also connected to the Pudgy World virtual world through QR codes. This innovation enhances the interactivity between toys and the digital world, providing users with a richer experience. Pudgy Toy They are available on Amazon, as well as at Walmart stores or Pudgy Penguin’s official website.

Pudgy World

Pudgy World is a metaverse world launched by Pudgy Penguins on zkSync, providing holders with a personalized interactive experience.

There is a QR code on Pudgy Toy. You can scan the code to enter Pudgy World , where you can explore the virtual penguin world, including playing mini-games, building your own igloo, etc. The launch of this virtual world not only enhances the cohesion of the community, but also makes Pudgy Penguins an important bridge for exploring the web3 world in the Web2 world.

Pudgy Penguins NFT

Pudgy Penguins NFT includes Pudgy Penguins and derivative NFT series Lil Pudgy and Pudgy Rods.

Derivative NFT series

• Lil Pudgy

Lil Pudgy is a collection of 22,222 NFTs launched in December 2021 and minted on the Ethereum blockchain. Pudgy Penguin holders received a free airdrop of these NFTs, and the rest were sold through a public sale.

• Pudgy Rods

Pudgy Rods, aka "rogs" (formerly "Pudgy Presents") were released by the original Pudgy Penguins team on August 30, 2021 as a free to claim NFT, one for each Pudgy Penguins. Pudgy Rods are an Easter egg packaged with a red ribbon. On Christmas Day, the egg was finally revealed: it contained a fishing rod.

$Pengu Token:

Founder Luca made an announcement on Twitter on December 6, announcing the official launch of Pudgy Penguins’ official coin $PENGU tokens, which will be issued on the Solana chain.

**Total supply: **88,888,888,888 (88.89 billion pieces), the initial circulation is 62,415,951,646 pieces, the specific chip structure is as follows:

• Public goods 4%
• Proliferation 4%
• Liquidity 12.35%
• Pudgy Community25.9%
• Other communities 24.12%
• FTT holders 0.35%
• Current and future teams 17.8%
• Company 11.48% (one-year cliff, three-year linear)

airdrop:

On December 16, Binance announced that the Binance Holder airdrop has now launched the fifth phase of project Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), and $PENGU will be listed at 22:00 on December 17, 2024 (Eastern Eighth District time), while BNB holder Accounted for 3% of the circulation.

The reason why Pengu has attracted widespread attention is not only due to the impact of Binance’s listing, but also its extensive short coverage that has driven the community’s widespread attention.

25.9% of the total amount of PENGU tokens will be distributed to members of the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem through airdrops, while 24.12% will be distributed to "other communities". Other communities include active addresses on Solana and active addresses on ETH. The airdrop will be carried out to eligible participants, who have 88 days to claim it.

The picture shows Foresight News. Alex Liu compiled the number of airdrops corresponding to each character from public information on the Internet. Among them, the NFT that can receive the most PENGU tokens is not the Fat Penguin, but the rarest Pudgy Rods.

Pudgy Penguins success factors:

• Brand and IP construction

Pudgy Penguins has won the resonance of young people and users of all ages through its cute and cute characters. CEO Luca Netz emphasized that branding and marketing are core driving forces. The launch of physical toys also makes virtual IP more three-dimensional. Within seven months, sales of physical toys exceeded 750,000

• innovative marketing

Billions of impressions every month: 13.8 billion animated GIF views, over 1.23 million Instagram fans, and over 10 million TikTok views. In addition, offline events such as Art Basel Miami Beach also boost brand influence.

• IP licensing and sharing

Pudgy Penguins recently paid millions of dollars in royalties to NFT holders and launched OverpassIP, an on-chain IP licensing platform, with plans to build global brands like Hello Kitty and Pokemon.

• Gamification and digital experiences

The Pudgy World on-chain open world game will be launched in 2024, supported by zkSync, and combined with physical toy QR codes to achieve a digital and real-life closed-loop experience.

Pudgy Penguins next route:

Pudgy Penguins will release its own public chain Abstract and incubator plan.

Abstract is a Layer 2 built using Matter Labs' ZK Stack and EigenLayer's data availability layer EigenDA, thereby making the development process of decentralized applications easier, cheaper and safer. In addition to building this chain, Pudgy Penguins also plans to build a development An incubator designed to help applications go from 0 to 1.

Abstract recently raised $11 million in investment led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. This strategic financing round was led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, and other investment institutions include Fenbushi Capital, 1kx, Everest Ventures Group and Selini Capital.

Pudgy Penguins has two missions: first, to become synonymous with penguins around the world. When people think of penguins, I hope they immediately think of Pudgy Penguins; second, to become the mascot and representative of cryptocurrency.

Summarize:

Since the launch of Pudgy Penguins, it has experienced the brightest moments of NFT as well as the darkest moments of NFT. However, with its unique cartoon image, innovative brand building and strong community power, Pudgy Penguins has gone from being a controversial NFT in its early days. project, growing into a brand with global influence in the blockchain and real world. NFT has also climbed from the lowest level of around 1 ETH to the current floor of 17.9 ETH, once becoming the most outstanding NFT this year.

Pudgy Penguins has redefined the value and usage scenarios of NFT through the materialization of toys, the launch of the virtual interactive platform Pudgy World, and innovative token economics and IP licensing. Driven by CEO Luca Netz, Pudgy Penguins' strategic development has demonstrated unprecedented innovation and diversity. From building an ecological chain Abstract, to incubator plans, to cross-platform IP licensing, every step has laid a solid foundation for the brand's future. Base. By continuing to deepen its brand mission, Pudgy Penguins not only successfully attracts a wider audience, but also injects vitality into the entire Web3 ecosystem.

In the future, Pudgy Penguins aims not only to become a penguin symbol worldwide, but also to become a representative mascot in the cryptocurrency field. It has taken solid steps on the road of combining technology and culture, and has also contributed to the growth of web3 users.

Related links:

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Blog: https://media.pudgypenguins.com/blog

Official website: https://www.pudgypenguins.com/

Twitter: https://x.com/pudgypenguins