If you think crypto is unpredictable, wait until you hear about PENGU. This little penguin token managed to pull off one of the most dramatic comebacks in memecoin history. We’re talking about a token that shot to the moon, crashed harder than most people’s New Year’s resolutions, then somehow clawed its way back to relevance.
Image of PENGU by Coinmarketcap
The Launch That Broke the Internet
December 17, 2024. That’s when PENGU decided to make its grand entrance into the crypto world, and what an entrance it was. Built on Solana and tied to the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection, this token didn’t just launch, it exploded. We’re talking about a rocket ship that hit $0.07 on day one, pushing the market cap past $4 billion.
The numbers were insane. Within the first hour, $90 million in trading volume. The claiming website got hammered with 4.7 million hits as over 100,000 people rushed to grab their tokens. Major exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and OKX were ready and waiting. The team clearly had their launch mechanics dialed in, likely using sophisticated volume management tools to maintain liquidity during those crucial first hours.
The magic behind this launch wasn’t just hype. PENGU had something most memecoins don’t: a real brand behind it. The Pudgy Penguins NFT collection had been dominating social media for months, with their GIFs and stickers racking up 850 million daily interactions on platforms like Tenor and Giphy.
The airdrop strategy was massive too. Out of 88.88 billion total tokens, about 25% went straight to Pudgy Penguins NFT holders. If you owned one of those cute penguin NFTs, you suddenly had thousands of dollars worth of PENGU tokens in your wallet.
When Everything Falls Apart
But here’s where the story gets painful to watch. Within hours of that glorious launch, reality came knocking. The token price didn’t just dip, it nosedived. From $0.07 to $0.027 in a matter of hours. That’s a 50% haircut before most people even knew what hit them.
The problems started piling up fast. The claiming website got hit with DDoS attacks. Users couldn’t access their tokens. MetaMask started flagging the site as dangerous. Binance had listing errors that confused everyone about the real market cap.
Then came the whale dumps. One wallet alone sold 176 million tokens worth over $9 million. When early investors and airdrop recipients started cashing out massively, the selling pressure became overwhelming.
The NFT collection that started it all took a hit too. Pudgy Penguins floor prices crashed from 36 ETH to 18 ETH almost overnight. But the real pain was yet to come. This wasn’t just a launch day correction. The bleeding continued for months.
By April 2025, PENGU had hit rock bottom at $0.003715. That’s a 92% decline from the peak. The token that was supposed to be the next big thing in memecoins became the second-worst performing memecoin of early 2025.
The Comeback Nobody Saw Coming
Just when everyone had written PENGU off as another failed memecoin experiment, something strange started happening. By July 2025, the token began stirring back to life. And when I say stirring, I mean it exploded upward with a vengeance.
The numbers were staggering. PENGU surged over 650% from its April lows, climbing from $0.0037 to around $0.028. The market cap shot past $2 billion, putting it back in the top 50 cryptocurrencies.
So what changed? Several things happened almost simultaneously that created the perfect storm for a comeback.First, the SEC acknowledged Canary Capital’s filing for the first-ever PENGU ETF. This wasn’t just any ETF either. The proposed fund would combine 80–95% PENGU tokens with 5–15% actual Pudgy Penguins NFTs. The idea of institutional backing through an ETF was huge news for a memecoin that had been left for dead.
Then Coinbase did something that sent shockwaves through the crypto community. They changed their X profile picture to a Pudgy Penguins NFT. That single move triggered a 60% price surge in one day. Other major exchanges followed suit. Binance US, OKX, and VanEck all switched to penguin-themed profile pictures.
Even Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, got in on the action by posting a penguin-themed illustration. That added another 31% to the token price.
The technical analysis crowd had their moment too. PENGU broke through key resistance levels that had been holding it down for months. Trading volume exploded as FOMO started kicking in. Smart money was clearly rotating back in with automated trading strategies, probably using platforms like Rocket Suite, creating the momentum needed to break those psychological barriers.
But perhaps most importantly, the community rallied. The Pudgy Penguins brand had never really died. With 1.7 million Instagram followers and partnerships with major retailers like Walmart and Target for physical merchandise, the foundation was still solid.
What This All Means
The PENGU story teaches us some important lessons about how crypto markets really work. First, airdrops without proper vesting schedules create massive selling pressure. When you dump 25% of your supply on holders who got their tokens for free, you’re asking for trouble.
Second, brand recognition matters more than people think. PENGU survived its crash partly because the Pudgy Penguins brand remained strong. These weren’t just random cartoon penguins, they were cultural phenomena with real staying power.
Third, institutional validation can be a game changer. The ETF filing and exchange profile picture changes weren’t just publicity stunts. They signaled that major players in the crypto space were taking PENGU seriously again.
Looking Forward
Screencap of the PENGU chart by Coinmarket cap
Today, PENGU sits at around $0.033, a far cry from both its peak and its depths. The token has proven it can survive the worst kind of market conditions and come back stronger.
The pending SEC decision on the PENGU ETF could be huge. If approved, it would mark the first time a memecoin gets institutional packaging alongside NFTs. The gaming expansion with Pudgy Party could provide actual utility beyond just being a memecoin.
But let’s be honest about the risks. PENGU is still a memecoin at heart, subject to the same volatility and sentiment swings that define this space. The lesson here isn’t that PENGU is guaranteed to succeed or fail. It’s that crypto markets are far more complex and unpredictable than most people realize.
PENGU’s story is still being written. The penguin that almost died has proven it can survive and thrive in the harshest conditions. Whether it can fly again remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: you can never count out a token with a strong community and a memorable meme.
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The Wild Ride of PENGU: How a Penguin Memecoin Crashed and Burned, Then Came Back Swinging was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.