Pudgy Penguins: a source of joy and warmth with over $305 million in sales

Incredibly, the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection, which introduced characters from the frosty land, melted the ice of crypto winter. On July 22, 2021, just 20 minutes after the launch of the project, 8888 digital penguins were sold out at a price of 0.03 ETH per piece. The popularity of the collection grew with incredible force. At the same time, the project could not avoid conflicts of interest, scandals and change of owners. However, the potential of the brand allowed it to survive the rough times and stay afloat.

Now it is one of the most dynamically developing NFT collections. As a result, the project generated more than $110 million in secondary sales. Thus, to date, it has taken the 23rd line of the TOP of the best NFT collections by sales volume of all time on OpenSea and has the status of blue chips.

In our review, you will find out what is the secret of the attractiveness of digital penguins, and why the startup Pudgy Penguins claims to be the leading NFT player.

Pudgy Penguins Official Links

• Official site https://www.pudgypenguins.com
• Twitter @pudgypenguins – over 87k followers,
• Discord @pudgypenguins – over 27k members,
• Instagram @pudgypenguins – over 260k subscribers,
• YouTube @pudgypenguinsofficial – over 500 subscribers.

What are Pudgy Penguins?

Pudgy Penguins is a collection of 8888 unique NFT penguins. A colony of peaceful birds settled on the Ethereum blockchain, spreading vibes of kindness and joy throughout the metaverse. The five rarest birds deserve special attention. Four of them are dressed in costumes of a shark, a ghost, a banana and a pineapple, and the fifth, No. 6873, is famous for looking in the opposite direction. And by the way, it is owned by the famous collector VincentVanDough. In addition to him, among the famous holders you will meet Steve Aoki, Steph Curry, 6529, Alex Svanevik and others.

The world of NFT penguins has attracted an inclusive community where people of different genders, ethnicities, ages and beliefs can communicate. Lovely chubby creatures are inhabitants of the northern lands. But they warm the hearts of NFT art fans from all over the world. And their fans are called simply The Huddle (or just huddlers).

Pudgy Penguins in numbers

• A collection of 8888 cute and kind penguins was created on July 22, 2021 by four students,
• On the day of the mint, tokens at a price of 0.03 ETH were sold out in 20 minutes,
• On April 4, 2022, the project was bought by Netz Capital led by Luca Schnetzler for $2.5 million,
• Total sales exceeded 186K ETH (over $305 million),
• The project is ranked 10th in the ranking of collections by sales volume of all time on the largest OpenSea marketplace,
• The most expensive NFT #6873 was sold for 400 ETH ($649K),
• The floor price is now 4.2 ETH.

Data (including exchange rates) are given at the time of publication of the article

Attributes of Pudgy Penguins

The collection contains 5 characteristics that make this or that NFT rarer and more unique.

• Background

There are 13 types of backgrounds in total. The most popular is Blue, it has 1587 avatars. The rarest are Green, On the beach, Supermarket, Trick Or Treating, Underwater (there are only 1 of them).

• Body

There are 64 types of bodies and their attributes in total. The most popular is Shirt Blue, it has 290 avatars. The rarest are Banana Suit, Mirrored, Pillow Case, Pineapple Suit, Shark Suit (one of them).

• Face

A total of 27 varieties of faces and their attributes. The most popular is Winking, it has 961 avatars. The rarest are Agitated, Mirrored, Pillow Case (one each).

• Head

There are 54 varieties of heads and their attributes in total. The most popular is Headband, it has 357 avatars. The rarest are Banana Suit, Normal, Pineapple Suit, Shark Suit (one each).

• Skin

There are 15 types of leather and its attributes in total. The most popular is Normal, it has 2649 avatars. The rarest is Black (only one avatar).

Who founded the Pudgy Penguins?

The Pudgy Penguin Collection was created by four college students on July 22, 2021. However, the founders compromised themselves by not keeping their promises. One of them, ColeTherium, was convicted of fraud and misappropriation of startup funds. An outraged community demanded a change in leadership.

In April 2022, the collection became the property of Los Angeles-based Netz Capital, owned by Luca Schnetzler. The purchase of the rights to the NFT brand cost the new owners of the collection 750 ETH (approximately $2.5 million), including royalty rights. Moreover, this was the first case of acquiring a full-fledged NFT company. In fact, Netz Capital purchased this amount of money from a few smart contracts, social media logins, and an empty treasury.

Here are the new project leaders:

• CEO (former footballer, businessman and e-commerce investor) Luca Netz (Luca Schnetzler) @LucaNetz;
• CTO Lorenzo Melendez @0xLoMel;
• Marketing director Nicholas Ravid;
• Creative director Peter Lobanov @chefgoyardi;
• PR Specialist Jennifer McGlone @EmpathyandIP;
• head of operations department Dr. Kaizu @EmpathyandIP.

The Huddle community is helping to make Pudgy Penguins the hottest web3 brand ever. It consists of developers and administrators, ideologues and creators. All these people are responsible for innovating the NFT project.

Heading The Huddle:

• community manager – Berko;
• manager – ActuallyAgents;
• senior meme specialist – PPMcghee;
• security moderator – TheChild.

What did the Netz Capital team do for the Pudgy Penguins?

The acquisition of the project in April 2022 by investor Luca Netz and his company Netz Capital set a precedent that astonished the industry. Luca Netz undertook a massive rebranding and summoned an advisory board made up of people from different industries. And for the Pudgy Penguins, it has become a second wind, flourishing and global growth.

And here is what the Netz Capital team managed to do in less than a year of hard work:

May 2022

• Pudgy Media’s corporate media platform has been expanded to include Twitter Spaces, monthly updates, resumes, community tweet scrapbook, Penguin of the Week and more. The project was created for The Huddle and maintained by The Huddle.
• Holding the first major yacht party in Miami during F1 weekend. In doing so, they set the standard for events in the Web3 space.

June

• The team hosted two NFT NYC events. One was with Shopify and the other was a private event.

• Release of Pudgy Marketplace, Origin’s own marketplace.

July

• Announcing the launch of the Pudgy toy line with PMI Toys. This news came with a precedent when the community licensed the team to commercialize the brand.
• Transfer of a personal token truePengu to the community. It is a non-tradable token that classifies the holder based on levels. This gives license opportunities that will allow the use of penguins for commercial, public and other purposes.
• Pudgy GIFs launched. This functionality has already gained over a billion views on GIPHY.
• First 100,000 followers on Instagram.

August

• Launch of a line of toys,

• Creation of an advisory board made up of thinkers, doers and industry titans,
• Announcement of Pudgy Children’s book,
• There is a public global recognition of the project by major figures in the NFT space, including Kevin Rose and the BAYC

Stoked for the pengs! Haven’t met @LucaNetz but excited to see where he and the new leadership takes em. https://t.co/bwro4rnHXx

— Garga.eth (Greg Solano) 🍌 (@CryptoGarga) August 22, 2022

September

• Release of the first collaborative storytelling video with Non-Fungible Films. In the future, this line will become a whole series of Web3 films.

We have a story to share with you…

Presenting CHAPTER ONE: THE GREAT BLIZZARD, a Pudgy Penguins short story by @NonFungibleFilm! pic.twitter.com/rSkg1c8usc

— Pudgy Penguins (@pudgypenguins) September 29, 2022

• The first corporate event was held in Singapore for all holders in Asia. As a result, more than 120 owners were present.

October

• Creation of the first sub-communities, including the women’s division of penguPrincesses,
• Launch of the weekly talk show Chillin’ with Pudgy Penguins, which airs every Monday at 8:00 pm EST. It has already been attended by such persons as Alex Svanevik, Jonathan Mann, Andrew Wang and others.

November

• Holding the first auction at Sotheby’s

Bringing a Web3 twist to the traditional auction, we’re proud to enter the world of digital fine art with @Sothebys.

From auctioning Cole's Penguin to launching Sotheby’s first-ever SBT, this auction is full of surprises & Web3 history.

LIVE AUCTION: https://t.co/wXs7rVtSBA pic.twitter.com/f3J6q5z7D0

— Pudgy Penguins (@pudgypenguins) November 18, 2022

December

• Holding an Art Basel event. And here’s how cool it was:

• Launch of the Building in Public video series, which explores what happened behind the scenes of the construction of the Pudgy Penguins.

Just think of it: they did it all in just 8 months! Impressive, isn’t it?

Pudgy Penguins Idea

The world of Pudgy Penguins is a celebration of empathy, freedom and creativity. These qualities should lead the good-natured penguins from the most inhospitable place on the planet and point the way for them to the promised land.

The creators of the brand believe that even Antarctic frosts are tolerable in a large family. Friendship and sympathy save us from cold and isolation, while imagination and playing awaken the inner child and creator in every person.

Why are Pudgy Penguins popular?

NFT penguins are steadily gaining popularity. Here are the top features that make this project stand out from the competition:

1. Exclusive atmosphere

The Pudgy Penguins community has a special spirit. Its participants even use special terminology. Penguins are called “pengus”, token holders are called “huddlers”, rare representatives of the collection without a headdress are called “tufts”, more common NFT birds are called “floors”. All this creates intrigue around the community and attracts new members.

2. Benefits for owners

NFT penguin holders get access to unique events. There is a famous case when a few lucky people were chosen to participate in a party on a luxurious $40 million Seafair Yacht. Guests could enjoy cocktails, poker and an exciting show program.

3. Celebrity Support

The community managed to attract the attention of some celebrities. Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, was actively involved in the project at the stage of its inception, and later, NBA star Stephen Curry and Canadian rapper Tory Lanez became interested in NFT penguins.

Pudgy Penguins Roadmap

The Pudgy Penguins’ most promising plans involve the release of a mysterious map of Antarctica. Many saw the game metaverse being created on it. But the project management still keeps the intrigue as for the implementation of this idea.

More realistic plans for the Pudgy Penguins include:

• Pudgy entertainment from The Huddle (quizzes, poker, etc.);
• meme editing lessons;
• AMA sessions on the Alethea artificial intelligence platform (AMA – “Ask Me Anything”);
• update of attributes set of the NFT project;
• release of the 3D version of the collection;
• collaboration with Oceanites, a company that researches chinstrap penguins;
• issuance of a unique Pengu Princess token in support of Web3 feminist sub-communities;
• participation in Twitter Spaces;
• sponsoring a Sudo pool by the project team;
• shooting a movie at the Disney Film Studios with the characters of the collection.

In addition, the development of the project’s educational platform for those inside and outside the NFT space continues.

Pudgy Penguins Ecosystem Projects

The creators of the NFT penguin collection are striving to make the brand one of the Web3 leaders, so they are actively developing the ecosystem.

Pudgy Rods NFT Collection

Pudgy Rods is a collection of 7,000 tokens that were distributed to Pudgy Penguins owners on August 30, 2021 in the form of Christmas NFT eggs. When fishing rods “hatched” from the presented eggs on December 25, members of the community were disappointed. Subsequently, owning Pudgy Rods became the only way to access the fishing game.

Lil Pudgys NFT Collection

Lil Pudgys is an NFT collection of 22,222 unique mini penguins. Its story began at the height of the Pudgy Rods scandal. The birth of a new collection that opened up exclusive access to all the features of Pudgy Penguins inspired the community. The first 8,888 tokens were reserved for Pudgy Penguins NFT holders, while the rest were for auction sale.

TruePengu SBT Token

The anniversary of the launch of the NFT collection, which took place on July 22, 2022, was marked by the release of truePengu SBT tokens. It is a non-transferable token that lives in the wallet of every Pudgy Penguins owner, , showing and ranking community membership.

They were distributed among the holders of Pudgy Penguins in accordance with the types of assets available:

• Ice truePengu was received by holders of Pudgy Penguins, Lil Pudgy and Pudgy Rods tokens;
• Holders of the first two types of tokens became the owners of Iridescent truePengu;
• Those users who only owned Pudgy Penguins received Gold truePengu.

Toys and children’s books

In August 2022, Pudgy, a line of plush toys designed by PMI Toys, was introduced. The authors of the NFT collection also partnered with the Green Kids Club to publish children’s books featuring token penguins as the main characters. The release of books and toys has become a powerful marketing ploy aimed at reaching wider audience.

PenguPins

PenguPins are tokens that serve as unique identifiers for their owners in the NFT penguin universe. So far, 16 digital penguPins have been released.

How much are Pudgy Penguins worth?

Initially, on July 22, 2021, NFTs were sold at a price of 0.03 ETH. And then they were sold out in just 2 hours. Now, of course, the price is completely different.

To visualize the price dynamics, we made a cut at the average price for 1 NFT:

• in August 2021 – 3 ETH,
• in October 2021 – 2.5 ETH,
• in December 2021 – 1.1 ETH,
• in March 2022 – 2 ETH,
• in June 2022 – 1.5 ETH,
• in September 2022 – 4.6 ETH,
• in December 2022 – 6.9 ETH,
• in March 2023 – 4.8 ETH.

Now (September 2023) the floor price is 4.2 ETH. On average, the latest sales are in the range of 4-7 ETH. And the total volume of secondary sales amounted to more than 185k ETH (about $305 million).

Most Expensive Sales of Pudgy Penguins NFTs

The most expensive sales are led by the following NFTs from the Pudgy Penguins collection:

1. #6873 sold on August 23, 2022 for 400 ETH ($649K at the time of sale). And this is the only penguin that looks in the opposite direction.
2. #3950 sold on August 19, 2022 for 130 ETH ($414K at the time of sale). This is the only penguin dressed as a pineapple on the beach.
3. #5678 sold on August 10, 2022 for 100 ETH ($316K at the time of sale). This is the only penguin in a Halloween ghost costume.
4. #2447 sold on October 16, 2021 for 100 ETH ($382K at the time of sale). This is the only penguin in a banana costume.

Where to buy Pudgy Penguins?

Currently, Pudgy Penguins can only be purchased on the OpenSea secondary market, as well as on the internal official marketplace.

How to buy Pudgy Penguins?

1. Remember that initially you need to connect your crypto wallet with self-storage to the marketplace of your choice.
2. Next, find the official collection using the search bar on the marketplace,
3. Analyze and choose the NFT you want to buy; click on it and then on the “Buy” button.
4. Or you can bet on the token you like. Make sure you leave enough ETH for gas or transaction fees. If the seller approves your bid, the deal goes through.

Should you invest in Pudgy Penguins?

Since Luca Netz entered the game, the digital penguin collection has found a new lease of life. Several factors promise success to potential investors:

• a strong community of NFT fans who move the project along the path of innovation;
• access of each owner of tokens to intellectual property licensing opportunities and exclusive events;
• project support from celebrity;
• a positive brand image, calling to overcome the boundaries of Web3 through love and empathy;
• ambitions of the owners of the NFT project who strive for global dominance in the metaverse.

As with any investment, the investor needs to exercise due diligence when making a decision.

Opinion of NFTMetria

The turbulent past did not prevent the project from achieving wild popularity and high demand for NFT products. With over $110 million in secondary sales, the Web3 brand demonstrates the importance of a strong team at the helm, as well as a strong community, and transparent project management and development.

New leadership is confidently leading the NFT project down a path of positive creativity, and a vigilant community is keeping it on track. Given the crazy progress in just 8 months of the new team, the general vector of the project development and the power of its support, there is no doubt in the future success of Pudgy Penguins. It has every chance to seriously compete with the well-known Azuki, Moonbirds and Meebits.