The launch of PENGU, the much-anticipated token by Pudgy Penguins on the Solana blockchain, faced a rocky start as its value plummeted by over 54% within just 24 hours. The token initially surged to $0.068 but quickly fell to $0.031, pressured by heavy selling from top holders.

Meme Coins Take a Hit

The turbulence surrounding PENGU wasn’t isolated. Other top meme coins also saw significant declines in the last 24 hours.

• Dogecoin dropped by 4%.
• Shiba Inu slipped 4.3%.
• PEPE tumbled 6.3%.

These losses contributed to the overall meme coin market cap shrinking to $127 billion, marking a 3.5% decrease, according to CoinGecko data.

Pudgy Penguins NFT Floor Price Drops by Nearly Half

The fallout extended to Pudgy Penguins’ NFT collection. Following the airdrop, the floor price plunged from 33 ETH to 17 ETH—a staggering 48% drop.

This sharp decline was driven by the falling value of the PENGU token, which eroded confidence in the broader Pudgy Penguins ecosystem. Once the second-largest NFT collection by market cap, Pudgy Penguins has now slipped to third place, overtaken by the Bored Ape Yacht Club, which holds a floor price of 18.89 ETH.

Airdrop Chaos and Market Instability

The PENGU token launched with a $2.3 billion market cap and recorded $425 million in trading volume within just four hours. However, the rapid activity revealed an underlying issue: heavy selling pressure from traders flipping tokens for quick profits. Data from Lookonchain highlighted that this behavior destabilized the market and dampened sentiment within the Pudgy Penguins community.

What’s Next for PENGU and Meme Coins?

The sharp decline of PENGU’s value and the broader meme coin market has raised concerns about the sustainability of such launches. The Pudgy Penguins community faces an uphill battle to restore confidence, while the meme coin market as a whole must grapple with growing skepticism about its volatility and long-term potential.

For now, all eyes are on how Pudgy Penguins and other meme coin projects adapt to these challenges to regain their footing.