How Pudgy Penguins NFTs Defied the Bear Market to Flourish

The current crypto bear market has caused major turmoil to the Web3 sector, negatively impacting the the growth of many decentralized projects, including NFTs. Essentially making it very difficult for any platform or collection to gain any traction in the current climate. However, some projects are built differently and have flourished while others have floundered. One such success story comes in the shape of Pudgy Penguins NFTs. 

What are Pudgy Penguins NFTs?

Pudgy Penguins represents a collection of 8,888 collectible NFTs created on the Ethereum network in July 2021. The project was co-founded by Cole Villemain, Clayton Patterson, and two pseudonymous members (“MickyJ” and “Jonah”). The Pudgy Penguins collection is a classic PFP NFT that offers exclusive perks to its holders (dubbed “Pengus” or members of the “Huddle”), including access to events, experiences, IP licensing opportunities, and lots more. 

During the launch, the Pudgy Penguin NFTs minted for 0.03 ETH and swiftly sold out within 20 minutes of their release, leaving enthusiasts to seek them on secondary marketplaces like OpenSea. After launch, its average floor price reportedly surged from 0.04 ETH in July to 3.49 ETH in August 2021. However, its floor price declined from September to December 2021, plummeting to 0.88 ETH. This decline was associated with several allegations against the founders, including a deviation from the project’s roadmap. 

This development resulted in several Pengus (Pudgy Penguin holders) wrapping the Penguin NFTs on METADROP into a new collection, stopping them from paying royalties to the accused founders and their team. At the launch of the NFT project, its founders stated their goals, which included creating a children’s educational book on NFTs, a virtual game for the ecosystem, and a custom token for the ecosystem, among others. However, its community feared the founders were abandoning the project since nothing was forthcoming from their initial pledges. This led to a partial decline in the project’s floor price from late 2021 to early 2022.

The Game Change

With accusations flying around on social media and its community (Twitter and Discord), Villemain and Patterson were expelled from the company in January 2022 after a Discord vote. Meanwhile, one of the Diamond hands of the PFP NFTs championing the re-balancing of the project’s initial goals was approached to buy the company at 888 ETH, which he rejected and made known in a tweet thread. However, after several buyout offers from reputable investors in the NFT space, Pudgy Penguins was sold to Luca Schnetzler (Netz) for 750 ETH in April 2022, relinquishing its founders.

The Netz Wand

Amidst the unfavorable 2022 NFT market, where several NFT prices plummeted, Netz and his team managed to navigate the Penguin’s ship to a favorable course, increasing its daily sales and average price to over 3 ETH. Since then, the project has performed admirably in the bear market to reach a floor price of 5.3 ETH (as of writing).

How Netz Navigated Pudgy Penguin to Stay Relevant in the Bearish Market Trend

The acquisition of Pudgy Penguins from its original founders proved to be an exciting move for Netz, his team, and the entire Pudgy Penguin community. His leadership has managed to brew lemonade from the bearish market lemon, re-establishing the project’s commitment to its goals. Netz incorporated an exciting business model from his entrepreneurial acumen, rebranding the Pudgy Penguin NFT ecosystem via the following models.

Getting Back on Track

Netz and his team swiftly swung into action after acquiring Pudgy Penguins. As a result, they reactivated the project’s initial goals and proceeded to achieve them. First, Netz rebranded the company by securing and authenticating its official social media accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Discord, and TikTok. He further established the company’s brand colors, logos, voice, and typefaces and rephrased the mission statement. Within three weeks of acquisition, the company employed key team members and started rolling out content and messages to the community and prospects.

Taking the Bull by the Horns

Netz did not joke when he said their goal is to dominate the NFT space via innovative products, partnerships, and storytelling. On August 26, 2022, Pudgy Penguins announced its plan to release the projected Penguin-themed Children’s book. The company partnered with Green Kids Club to actualize and establish its storytelling goals. 

Furthermore, Pudgy Penguins established the IP rights in December 2022, allowing Pengus to use their NFTs for commercial use and earn up to a projected $500k annually. The IP rights also grant owners to sublicense their NFTs to a third party for commercial purposes. However, these rights are transferable once owners resell their NFT to another buyer.

Partnership with Reputable Brands

On February 15, 2023, Pudgy Penguins partnered with Hologram Labs to incorporate 3D models into Pudgy Penguins. This landmark partnership will allow Pengus to use their NFTs to create content on YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and Vtube. It also allows owners to use their Penguins in video calls.

On February 20, 2023, Pudgy Penguins also partnered with Retail Monster in its bid to extend its project goals. This partnership paved the way for a novel Pudgy Penguins toy, placing Retail Monster as the official distributor when it launched. 

Community Meetups

Pudgy Penguins took another decisive step by organizing physical meetups for its community members in February 2023. This initiative fosters virtual and physical community bonding among its members, and it was held in New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Seoul, and Singapore. These meetups serve as a make-up for the NFT Winter Art Basel event in December 2022. 

Adding More to the Baggage

Netz has continued his ambition of extending the Pudgy Penguins brand beyond the NFT space. As such, the company applied for trademarks in printed comic books, collectible trading cards, candy, snacks, board games, hoodies, hats, virtual goods, multimedia, and so on.

Another Landmark Debut

On May 18, 2023, Pudgy Penguins unveiled its Pudgy Toys and Pudgy World, marking its debut in realm of Phygital collectibles.

The Pudgy World is a digital platform that connects newbies in the decentralized space to NFTs and blockchain; it is more like an introduction portal to the decentralized landscape. PMI Toys and Retail Monster distributed the physical Pudgy toys, which can be purchased from reputable stores like Amazon. Pudgy toys are not random toys on a store shelf; they represent another classy NFT collection. Recently (on September 26, 2023) Pudgy Toys, alongside Pudgy World extended its market reach to 2,000 Walmart stores in the USA, promoting Pudgy Toys and the Pudgy Penguins to the physical world at large.

Unlike botched updates to Azuki and DeGods’ NFT collections, , unveiling the toy was instrumental in surging the average floor price of Pudgy Penguins NFTs to 6.2 ETH on May 20, 2023. Pudgy Toys unlock effectively unlock both Soulbound and tradable NFTs. Furthermore, Pudgy Toys raised the bar of NFTs by incorporating physical items attached to each item; it reportedly sold over $500k in toys on Amazon in the first 2 days, claiming the top spot ahead of other reputable brands. 

The Pudgy Bridge

What is the use of an exclusive item with restriction?

The Pudgy Bridge allows users to transfer the Penguins’ NFTs across multiple networks and interact with different ecosystems. Users can transfer their Pudgy Penguins NFT from the Ethereum network to Polygon via MetaMask, Coinbase wallet, or WalletConnect with the bridge.

9 Million Dollars in Funding

Every investor likes putting their money in a profitable investment basket. Such was the case of the multiple investors that raised $9 million in the Pudgy Penguins seed funding in May 2023. The funding was led by 1kx, with participation from reputable brands like Big Brain Holdings, Kronos, Ethersole, LayerZero, Shima Capital, Old Fashion Research, and more.

To maintain relevance, Netz is not slowing down at all; the Pudgy Penguin’s team keeps invigorating its community and the entire NFT space. Aside from the landmark success recorded like revitalizing the project from zero to millions of dollars, over 187k ETH total volume, growing its average floor prize from 0.04 ETH to 5.3 ETH, and seed fund investment, the company keeps unveiling new projects to grease their development gears toward projected goals. These include:

•         Soulbound Tokens (SBTs): PenguPins and truePengu
•         SoulTransport
•         Pudgy Clans
•         Monthly MVP Soulbound Token for outstanding community members
•         High-end in-house collectibles
•         Rumored Pudgy Penguin Metaverse

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*All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFT Plazas are from the personal research and experience of our site moderators and are intended as educational material only. Individuals are required to fully research any product prior to making any kind of investment.