In 2021, during the NFT boom, four university students launched a collection of 8,888 digital penguins at Ethereum. In just 19 minutes A stubborn penguin They were sold out at 0.03 ETH each. In a few months, floor prices exceeded 2.5 ETH, and the project appeared destined to enter PFP history.
Then came the crisis. The roadmap won’t last, with poor management accusations and the feeling that a stubborn penguin could become “yet another failed JPEG.” In early 2022, the community removed its founder. Was it the end? In fact, it was just the beginning.
Play Luca Netz and Pudgy Penguins: From NFT Collections to Million-Day IPs
April 2022, Entrepreneur Luka Network We purchased the project for about 750 ETH (approximately $2.5 million) and outlined a clear vision. “Convert Pudgy Penguins to Disney on Web3”. The new team understood that the key was to truly build beyond NFT speculation Intellectual Property (IP) It can generate real revenue.
The plan was based on three pillars.
- Mainstream brand construction: Characters with emotional design, storytelling and viral social content.
- Physical and Digital Merchandising: Toys, luxury and licensed in thousands of stores.
- Engage in the community: Offers NFT holders an active role and loyalty through an overpasing platform.
result? That’s all Two million toys on sale Less than 2 years, more than that Retail revenue of $13 millionand partnerships with Walmart, Amazon, and Target. The stocky penguins have become a pop phenomenon from JPEG.
Unique Business Model: NFTs that generate cash flows
The true revolution of a stocky penguin is not merely aesthetic, it is economical. and OverpassingNFT owners can obtain a license for the Penguin physical product and receive royalties. In reality, the holder becomes a type of “stakeholder” of an IP.
“NFTs shouldn’t live on hype alone. They have to create real value. With Speech Penguins, they connected the digital world to retail. This is just the beginning.”
-Luca Netz.
This model makes Pudgey a unique case study: NFTs that are not limited to speculation, but Actual cash flow linked to the brand’s commercial success.
From Lil Pudgys to Pudgy World: Ecosystem expansion
Evolution never stopped with gorgeous toys. The team expanded the universe as follows:
- Lil Pudgys: 22,222 Mini Penguin NFTs were conceived as a brand extension.
- Animation Series and Viral Memes: Giphy’s official GIF is above it 50 billion viewsmore than Hello Kitty and Pokemon.
- A stocky world: It uses a platform that connects physical toys and digital avatars via QR codes to bring the drooping thing into the consumer metaverse.
A combination of storytelling, physical products and social content has transformed the drooping penguin into an IP that can be recognized outside of the crypto world.
Pengu: Token as a “social currency”
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December 2024, Pledge Upon arrival, the official tokens of stubborn penguins on the Solana blockchain have arrived. Initially it was considered a memo coin, but it was defined by Luca Nets. “Social Currency”A currency designed to fuel stubborn ecosystem interactions, games and applications.
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Over Total owner 860,000 In Solana and Abstract Chain, Pengu is one of the most extensive Web3 tokens today. Part of the supply was air forces across NFT holders and other communities, building bridges between different worlds.
ETF nft? A historical turning point
The growth of stocky penguins has opened the door to unprecedented experiments. Hybrid ETF This includes both Pengu tokens (80-95%) and Pudgy Penguins NFTS (5-15%). The proposal presented by the Canary capital and supported by the CBOE BZX has already received an acknowledgment from the SEC in July 2025.
If approved, it would be The first ETF to combine tokens and NFTsopening up a new era of traditional finance and Web3.
Community Power: From “huddles” to big brands
Behind Pudgy’s success is a lively and loyal community called nicknames Huddle. Celebrities like Steph Curry and Alexis Ohanianalong with brands such as Coinbase and Animoca brands, adopted Pudgy Penguins as their profile photos, bringing the project to mainstream scale.
Mix of Viral memes and Organic Engagement Not just a cryptographic project, it has made Pudgy a cultural phenomenon.
Why Pudgy Penguins is a future case study for NFTS
Overpassing, global merchandising, penguins tokens and even ETF proposals have demonstrated that NFTs can be done.
- Create an actual IPS Beyond the hype.
- Generate tangible revenue Share with the community.
- Building a bridge between Web3 and the mainstream world.
This is the first project to integrate NFT, consumer brands, talknomics and traditional finance in a single ecosystem.
Pudgy Penguins is no longer an NFT collection. A living experiment on how Web3, IP, and the community actually creates lasting value. Tokens with millions of toys sold, hundreds of thousands of holders, and the ETF hypothesis, Lukanets’ penguins are creating a new pathway for the industry.