PENGU, the official token of the Pudgy Penguins non-fungible token (NFT) collection, dropped earlier this week to a much-hyped cryptocurrency community and in just two days, the memecoin has already dethroned some of the meme token realm's all-time greats.
As per CoinGecko's top memecoins by market value rankings, PENGU is now the 6th largest meme token, surpassing BRETT and FLOKI, which are considered long-time rankers in the memecoin kingdom's highest ranks.
While PENGU has reached a staggering $2.1 billion market cap since going live Tuesday, FLOKI has a market value of $1.8 billion, and BRETT is at $1.4 billion as of early Thursday.
FLOKI is a three-year-old memecoin, while BRETT went live late in February.
$PENGU's Flight to Glory
Ahead of the PENGU token launch, Pudgy Penguins was already in the headlines since last week following the NFT collection's floor price surge, even surpassing the price of 1 Bitcoin.
The NFTs' price spike has been attributed to the hype around the PENGU memecoin's release, especially after all the internal issues that the team experienced in recent years.
Following the acquisition by Netz Capital in 2022, the NFT collection expanded to physical toys and also got involved in blockchain-infused video games, gaining more positive attention in the crypto world.
The PENGU token was unveiled earlier this month, touted as the "one coin to rule them all." The memecoin's price immediately skyrocketed upon launch and continues to be a hot topic across crypto.
Aside from its eligible holder airdrop on Tuesday, Pudgy Penguins also got the PENGU token listed on some of the biggest exchanges worldwide, including Bybit and OKX.
What Crypto is Saying About $PENGU
Many cryptocurrency users have given the thumbs up to the new memecoin, including TRON blockchain Founder Justin Sun, who gave a nod to the "incredibly creative" token.
One user suggested that Pudgy Penguins should be inducted into the "NFT hall of fame." The team has done stellar work in getting attention back to NFTs amid the apparent decline in interest for the blockchain segment.
"You've shown that with conviction and genuine passion, it's possible to create something truly remarkable and achieve success against all odds. This is what defines a true builder, not selling fomo (fear of missing out) but working hard," one user said.
Prominent industry analyst Adam Cochran, who usually doesn't "promote" NFTs and meme tokens unless they have value, said Pudgy Penguins may be "the biggest opportunity in the next few years in crypto."
PENGU has a couple of millions more to go before it can challenge the Top 3 memecoins: PEPE, Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Dogecoin (DOGE). On the other hand, at least based on its current performance, it can be safe to say PENGU is one step closer to becoming a serious challenger to Elon Musk-favored DOGE.
