From Humble Beginnings to Global Recognition
The Pudgy Penguins nonfungible token (NFT) project has reached an extraordinary milestone, with over one million Pudgy Penguin toys sold in the last year. CEO Luca Schnetzler revealed that the project has seen a significant increase in sales, expanding its presence to retailers worldwide. In a recent post, Schnetzler expressed astonishment at the unexpected popularity of “fat flightless birds” leading the Consumer Crypto revolution.
The recent achievement of selling Pudgy Toys in partnership with Pudgy World at Target, a renowned retail giant in the United States, has further solidified the success of Pudgy Penguins.
The Evolution and Resurgence of Pudgy Penguins
Initially launched in 2021, Pudgy Penguins, a collection of 8,888 vibrant penguin avatars, faced challenges early on, including allegations of a rug pull by its original creator. However, in 2022, Schnetzler acquired the project for $2.5 million, breathing new life into its future.
Expanding beyond the digital sphere, plush toy versions of the adorable penguins are now available for purchase in major retail outlets like Walmart and Target, contributing to the project’s continuous success.
A distinctive feature of Pudgy Penguins is its innovative model that allows NFT holders to earn 5% royalties on net revenues from the sales of physical products featuring their unique Pudgy Penguin designs.
The NFT versions themselves have gained substantial value, with a base price of 12.87 ETH (approximately $37,580) on the NFT marketplace OpenSea.
Notable recent sales include the remarkable transaction of Penguin #6873, which was sold for 400 ETH, equivalent to around $1.17 million, as reported by OpenSea.
Despite a slight decline in sales volumes since its peak in mid-February, the Pudgy Penguins collection continues to maintain an average of approximately 269 sales per day, further solidifying its position in the NFT market.
In terms of secondary sales in the last seven days, Pudgy Penguins ranks twelfth on the NFT sales monitoring platform CryptoSlam, with a total value of $2.2 million.
“We are thrilled to welcome Pudgy Penguins, a true innovator and a strong brand, into the Unstoppable Domains family,” said Sandy Carter, COO at Unstoppable Domains.
Back in February, Pudgy Penguins collaborated with Unstoppable Domains to introduce “.pudgy” domain names, offering a unique opportunity for customers to link top-level domain names with their Pudgy Penguin NFTs. This integration opens up various possibilities for domain holders, including sending and receiving web3 messages, conducting crypto transactions between domain addresses, and earning exclusive utility badges through the new domains.
