Author: Nancy, PANews
A group of adorable penguins is quietly changing the cultural narrative of the crypto world. Just this past weekend, several well-known crypto projects coincidentally changed their X avatars to chubby penguins. This seemingly fun social interaction is a collective recognition of the long-term spirit and brand-building strategy of Pudgy Penguins. This chubby penguin is also driving grassroots crypto experiments to accelerate their move into mainstream culture.
Chubby Penguins are once again trending in the crypto circle; what’s the secret behind the "rebirth" of the small image?
Recently, Pudgy Penguins has sparked a wave of avatar changes in the mainstream crypto community, with industry heavyweights like Coinbase, OpenSea, VanEck, MoonPay, OKX, and Jupiter successively changing their official X platform avatars to Pudgy Penguins' derivative images.
In fact, this is not the first time Pudgy Penguins has experienced a collective "head swap." As early as the end of December 2024, after Pudgy Penguins completed a large-scale airdrop for the community, OpenSea, Solana co-founder Toly, Binance.US, and others were among the first to change their avatars to chubby penguins.
Then, on April 26, 2025, coinciding with World Penguin Day, Pudgy Penguins officially released a commemorative poster, with several well-known institutions responding in kind, including VanEck, Uniswap Labs, Phantom, Moonshot, Gemini, and Helius, which successively released avatars related to chubby penguins.
The trend of crypto projects changing their avatars is not merely due to the influence of Pudgy Penguins' founders, nor is it solely because of the cute and appealing visual style of the chubby penguins, but rather a support and recognition of the constructive narrative and long-term culture behind it, as well as the rise of crypto elite entrepreneurship. Many founders in the crypto space are holders of Pudgy Penguins NFTs.
It is worth noting that during the hottest phase of the NFT market, changing avatars to blue-chip NFTs became a social ritual for crypto players to showcase their identity, taste, and delineate circles. For example, BAYC is a typical case; it is not just an asset but has become a form of ostentatious social capital, with its popularity stemming more from speculative capital's pursuit of scarce assets. However, as the NFT market sentiment cooled and speculative capital receded, the once ubiquitous blue-chip avatars were quietly removed, and NFTs even acquired a negative label of investment failure.
In contrast to the eventual downturn of most "money can buy a seat at the table" small images, the success of chubby penguins' commercial transformation lies in its clear strategic planning, strong operational capabilities, and narrative-building power. Since the NFT market turned bearish in 2022, Pudgy Penguins has not been swallowed by market sentiment; instead, it has actively engaged in IP licensing and commercial implementation, telling a vibrant story about brand building, cultural operation, and long-termism, relying on its unique and adorable penguin image.
Behind all this is the visionary and resourceful core operator, Luca Netz, whose brand management and operational approach aligns more with the aesthetics of traditional markets, significantly differing from the insular thinking of many NFT project founders.
From collaborating with Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Walgreens to launch or sell physical toy series, and outperforming traditional strong IPs like Disney and Transformers in sales, to partnering with Hollywood's top talent agency WME and children's book publisher Random House Kids to continuously expand derivative content, and developing products like Pudgy Party and Pengu Clash, Pudgy Penguins is building a long-term brand construction cycle through high-recognition aesthetic language, combining offline toys, e-commerce, social content, and IP licensing, while actively penetrating mainstream culture.
Moreover, they have even created viral marketing through mainstream platforms like TikTok and Instagram, as well as participating in Sotheby's auctions, exhibiting in Times Square, and hosting real-world events, significantly enhancing brand exposure and public awareness. This multi-dimensional marketing and communication strategy has helped Pudgy Penguins continuously expand its global influence, with the active audience size rapidly growing to millions. According to Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz, as of July 2025, the global audience for chubby penguins has reached 87.4 million, with expectations to approach or exceed the target of 100 million by the end of the year, demonstrating significant growth potential.
It is precisely Pudgy Penguins' Web2-style elite corporate operation that breaks the stereotype of speculation dominating the NFT and the entire crypto market, showcasing the real value and extension capability of Web3 brands to the traditional world, leading more traditional institutions to be willing to "pay" for chubby penguins. Of course, for investors, Pudgy Penguins' narrative path not only brings a price investment threshold but also tests the perception of trends, insight into business models, and judgment of ecological development.
Not just ringing the bell, but opening the mainstream financial door with VanEck and ETFs
Pudgy Penguins' brand imagination goes beyond just IP narrative building. Imagine a penguin that was originally active only in the crypto community, breaking out with its cute image, now appearing on the stage of traditional financial markets; this scenario has indeed occurred with Pudgy Penguins. The driving force behind this cross-border breakthrough is the established investment management company VanEck.
As early as June 2024, VanEck unexpectedly changed its social media avatar to Pudgy Penguins and publicly stated, "The boss thinks it's too cute; we can't not change the PFP." This was not only a light-hearted cultural interaction but also indicated that traditional financial giants are actively embracing native crypto IP.
Subsequently, VanEck not only used the chubby penguin image in its promotional video for the Ethereum ETF launched in 2024 but also recently collaborated with Pudgy Penguins to ring the opening bell on Nasdaq when launching the DAPP ETF product. This marks the first time a Web3 native IP has entered the global capital market stage, bringing unprecedented brand exposure to Pudgy Penguins and symbolizing its formal recognition in the financial sector.
The reason VanEck supports Pudgy Penguins seems to be the brand's strategy of leveraging publicity. In the promotional release for the Nasdaq bell-ringing ceremony, VanEck introduced the event on its official website, LinkedIn, TikTok, and other platforms aimed at traditional investors and mainstream media in a relatively neutral and objective tone, emphasizing its crypto layout. However, on the X platform, where the crypto community is active, VanEck did not explicitly highlight the specific content of the bell-ringing and other ecological projects. In contrast, Pudgy Penguins' own publicity team made a big splash on the X platform, attracting widespread discussion from the crypto community.
Regarding the recent trend of chubby penguins changing avatars, VanEck's Web3 director Matt Bartlett further explained that what people care about is culture, not history. CryptoPunks have an undeniable historical status, but they inherently carry a sense of "aloofness," making it difficult to achieve content co-construction or collaborative communication with brands. While BAYC once occupied a cultural high ground, it has always carried a certain distance, more like a collectible to be flaunted rather than a true cultural symbol representing user identity. In contrast, Pudgy Penguins are cute, friendly, and possess MEME potential, making them naturally suitable for dissemination. They are friendly enough for brands, children, and a broader mainstream audience while maintaining the core spirit of Web3. They do not exist to be "cool" but strive to be "adorable." This culture can be shared, imitated, and participated in. It spreads through memes, toys, language, and stories, stimulating public engagement. For this reason, more and more companies are willing to create content around Pudgy and recognize its value, actively joining this cultural narrative. Matt Bartlett believes that mere historical value is insufficient to sustain current influence. What truly drives the continuous evolution of brands and communities is the infectiousness and resonance of culture. Pudgy Penguins are now defining a new cultural atmosphere.
More groundbreaking is the path Pudgy Penguins is opening towards financial products. According to public information, the Cboe BZX Exchange has currently submitted a 19b-4 application to the U.S. SEC for the Canary PENGU ETF, initiating a public comment period of about 21 days. This ETF product will directly hold Pudgy Penguins ecological assets (including PENGU tokens/NFTs). If it passes the review smoothly, PENGU will become the first U.S. ETF product to directly hold MEME or NFT assets, gradually entering the core configuration of mainstream investment portfolios.
Currently, the market sentiment for Pudgy Penguins has been stimulated, and its ecosystem has responded accordingly. Among them, the floor price of Pudgy Penguins NFTs has reached 14.19 ETH, setting a new high in nearly six months; the price of the PENGU token has hit $0.03, with a 30-day increase of 192.7%, not far from its historical high.
In summary, from small image avatars to cultural consumer brands, and then to financial asset targets, the comeback story of Pudgy Penguins not only establishes itself as a commercializable, socialized, and even financialized visual asset but also marks a phased victory for crypto elite culture.
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