Written by: BitMart Research
I. Pudgy Penguins Sparks Twitter Profile Picture Trend
Recently, Pudgy Penguins has sparked a profile picture trend in the crypto circle, with industry institutions such as Coinbase, Binance.US, OpenSea, VanEck, OKX, and BitMart successively changing their Twitter official avatars to Pudgy Penguins derivative images. The endorsement from traditional financial giant VanEck is particularly crucial. This 70-year-old asset management company not only changed its Twitter avatar to a Pudgy Penguin in 2024 but also rang the Nasdaq bell with a physical doll on June 23rd, bringing the Web3 IP into the mainstream financial hall. The recent popularity has significantly boosted the price performance of Pudgy Penguins-related assets. As of July 17th, the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem token $PENGU surged over 216% in the past month, with its market cap briefly exceeding $2.8 billion. The Pudgy Penguins Non-Fungible Token trading volume increased to $13.726 million, a 111% growth compared to the previous month.
II. Pudgy Penguins' Ecosystem Panorama
Since the NFT market downturn in 2022, Pudgy Penguins has not been overwhelmed by market sentiment. Instead, leveraging its unique cute penguin image, it actively expanded IP licensing and commercial implementation, telling a story about brand building and cultural operation. Now, Pudgy Penguins has grown into the core brand of a diverse ecosystem. Its ecosystem includes not only the Ethereum Layer2 network Abstract built on ZK architecture but also integrates game applications, MEME, Non-Fungible Token lottery platforms, offline toys, and consumer goods.
According to official data as of July, Pudgy Penguins toy sales exceeded $10 million, the game sector reached 60,000 users, and Abstract accumulated approximately 2.5 million active users. These data indicate that Pudgy Penguins is transforming into a Web3 super IP with user scale effects, product commercialization capabilities, and on-chain infrastructure capabilities.
1. Physical Ecosystem
In physical products, the Pudgy Toys series is undoubtedly the most successful commercial implementation. Since its first release in May 2023, Pudgy Toys quickly topped Amazon's bestseller list, with sales breaking $10 million and subsequently successfully entering over 10,000 Walmart stores nationwide. The diverse product categories like plush toys, dolls, and igloos, combined with the licensing revenue binding mechanism between Pudgy Non-Fungible Tokens and real-world products, allow Pudgy holders to earn passive income from sales, providing a commercial path reference for the entire Non-Fungible Token industry.
2. Game Sector
The game sector is also a key focus for Pudgy Penguins. In May, the 1v1 turn-based battle game Pengu Clash was launched in the TON ecosystem, attracting over 60,000 players in its first week. Additionally, the upcoming multiplayer survival game Pudgy Party, set to launch in summer 2025, has already attracted significant user attention, with its official Twitter nearing 100,000 followers. By continuously releasing lightweight game content that matches user social habits and entertainment needs, Pudgy Penguins is steadily expanding its IP reach and effectively attracting more users into its ecosystem.
3. Abstract Ecosystem
Abstract
Abstract is a ZK-rollup Ethereum Layer2 launched by Pudgy Penguins' parent company Igloo Inc. in collaboration with Cube Labs. It adopts a wallet solution without seed phrases and a user-centric design philosophy, intending to lower user barriers and expand the prevalence of consumer-grade application scenarios. As of July 18th, Abstract network TVL was $42.6M (533% growth compared to the beginning of the year), with network active users maintained between 50K-200K. The network carries multiple ecosystem applications including Pudgy Penguins-related games and Non-Fungible Token applications. Popular projects in the ecosystem include:
Abster: Abster is the official mascot MEME of Abstract. As of July 17th, Abster's market cap rose to $37.6M, currently the highest market cap MEME in the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem.
Polly: Polly is the official token of the PollyPrize lottery project. Users can participate in platform lottery activities by purchasing Polly tokens, with ticket prices at $1 or 50 Polly points, offering prizes of current popular Non-Fungible Tokens like Goblintown and Moonbirds.
III. Future Development Potential
There are three noteworthy developments in the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem in the short term. First, crypto asset management firm Canary Capital formally submitted an application to the SEC in March, proposing to launch a spot ETF product based on $PENGU. If approved, it would become the world's first ETF product with a native Non-Fungible Token project asset, not only holding milestone significance but also bringing unprecedented institutional recognition to $PENGU. Achieving asset anchoring and compliant circulation in the traditional financial system will significantly enhance Pudgy Penguins' liquidity, valuation basis, and institutional investability.
Additionally, the infrastructure Abstract is accelerating its improvement. Pudgy Penguins' CEO Luca Netz previously stated in a livestream that Abstract is expected to launch its TGE by the end of this year. As the core infrastructure carrying Pudgy Penguins' games, Non-Fungible Token interactions, and social applications, its token mechanism, once implemented, will provide stronger incentives and collaborative expectations for ecosystem participants, driving further popularity of native projects like PENGU, Abster, and PollyPrize.
Lastly, the multiplayer survival game Pudgy Party is expected to launch this summer and has already accumulated significant community attention. As the game's official launch approaches, ecosystem MEME characters like Abster may achieve content linkage and gameplay integration, further strengthening brand stickiness and ecosystem heat.
The current Pudgy Penguins has far exceeded the scope of traditional Non-Fungible Token projects. It has developed into a composite Web3 brand covering IP, physical products, games, and infrastructure. Starting from an avatar IP, it has expanded to offline consumer goods, light social games, ZK Layer2 infrastructure, MEME tokens, and lottery platforms, gradually building a composite ecosystem loop that spans virtual and real, multi-chain, and multi-scenario. This is the primary reason why Pudgy Penguins maintains market activity despite the ongoing Non-Fungible Token market downturn.
