Crypto Project Pudgy Penguins Appears on the Sphere Dome in Las Vegas

RBK-cryptoPublicado a 2025-12-25Actualizado a 2025-12-25

Resumen

Popular NFT project Pudgy Penguins has achieved a major marketing milestone by placing its advertisement on the exterior of the Sphere in Las Vegas, the world's largest spherical LED media platform. The project, which began as a flagship NFT collection on Ethereum, has transformed into a global retail brand by 2025. It now boasts global sales of toys, partnerships with retailers like Walmart and Amazon, the release of animated content, and the launch of its PENGU token on the Solana network. The project has deliberately avoided crypto-themed advertising for this campaign, focusing instead on its physical goods and animated content without mentioning tokens or NFTs. This contrasts with a previous attempt by the Dogwifhat (WIF) meme coin community to run a similar campaign, which was rejected by Sphere despite raising $700,000. The floor price for a Pudgy Penguins NFT is currently around 4 ETH (approximately $12,000). The PENGU token was one of the top-performing major crypto assets in 2025, though it later corrected by more than 70% from its July peak alongside most altcoins. Its previous growth was accompanied by the launch of the Pengu Clash mini-game on Telegram and partnerships with Lufthansa and NASCAR. The project also gained significant attention when dozens of executives from major crypto companies temporarily changed their social media avatars to Pudgy Penguins images.

The team behind the popular NFT project became the first in the crypto industry to secure advertising placement on the world's largest LED screen

The characters of the Pudgy Penguins brand have become part of the outdoor advertising on the giant LED screen Sphere — the world's largest spherical media platform, located in Las Vegas.

Animation on the LED screen of the Sphere in Las Vegas. Source: pudgypenguins / X

The Pudgy Penguins project began as one of the flagship NFT collections on the Ethereum network, but by 2025 it had transformed into a retail brand with global sales of toys, partnerships with retailers Walmart and Amazon, the release of animated films, and the launch of the PENGU token on the Solana network.

NFT (non-fungible tokens) — these are unique digital objects with ownership confirmed on the blockchain. They became part of the crypto-mania of 2021-2022, when images, videos, and other collectible tokens on the Ethereum or Solana networks were sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The project avoided a ban on crypto advertising from the sphere's operators by focusing on physical goods — toys, merchandise, and animated content, without mentioning tokens or NFTs. Earlier, an attempt by the Dogwifhat (WIF) meme coin community to run a similar campaign was rejected, despite raising $700 thousand for it.

The minimum price (floor price) for one NFT image from the collection is 4 ETH (about $12 thousand), according to CoinGecko data on December 25th.

RBC-Crypto Telegram channel — subscribe and stay up to date with the most important and current news about cryptocurrency.

Join the RBC-Crypto forum on Telegram to discuss news and trends in the crypto world.

The PENGU token showed one of the best growth results among major crypto assets in 2025, but by the end of the year, along with most altcoins, it corrected by more than 70% from its July peak.

That period of growth was accompanied by the launch of the game Pengu Clash as a mini-app on Telegram, a partnership of the project with the airline Lufthansa and the organizer of NASCAR auto races. The same period was marked by a mass flashmob when dozens of leaders and managers of large crypto companies temporarily changed their avatars on social network X to images of Pudgy Penguins.

Volatility interrupted. How the price of bitcoin changed over 10 years at Christmas

AI beat people in a crypto trading tournament. What were the results?

"Capitalization" of miners was called a bullish factor for bitcoin. Why?

Lecturas Relacionadas

Podcast Notes | Conversation with GSR Asset Management Head: To Determine if This Crypto Rally is Real, Just Watch the Lending Rates on Aave

Podcast Summary: Dialogue with GSR's Head of Asset Management: To Determine if This Crypto Rally is Real, Just Check Lending Rates on Aave Andy Baehr, Managing Director of Asset Management at GSR, discusses the current crypto market, characterizing it as stuck in a state of "ambivalence" with short-lived, unsustainable rallies. He outlines a simple framework: the market moves between "ambivalence" and "conviction" (sustained upward momentum). Currently, every rally resembles a single-stage rocket booster that quickly fizzles out. Baehr identifies three key signals to watch: 1) DeFi lending rates, 2) the potential passage of the CLARITY Act, and 3) the market forming a consensus on the "Fed hawkish peak." He emphasizes that the most immediate indicator for the sustainability of the recent CPI-triggered rally is the USDC borrowing rate on Aave, currently around 3.75%—close to U.S. Treasury yields. The absence of a credit spread indicates low leverage demand and a lack of market energy. He explains that a healthy, sustained rally requires layered buying pressure. Last year's rally progressed from an ETH short squeeze to crypto-native trader influx and finally to ETF inflows. Currently, this structure is missing. Other potential structural buyers like Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies are absent, and ETF flows have proven transient. Baehr notes that while small-cap crypto tokens outperformed large caps in Q2—a potential sign of capitation in major assets—capital is also flowing to more exciting opportunities like AI stocks and tech IPOs, leaving crypto sidelined. Regarding DeFi, he highlights that platforms like Aave provide a clear, real-time signal of leverage demand through their supply/demand-driven interest rates. A significant, sustained rate increase would signal genuine market conviction. He also observes the quiet emergence of fixed-income-like products and vaults in DeFi. On regulation, the probability of the CLARITY Act passing before the August 7th deadline has dropped linearly from 75% to below 40% on Polymarket. Baehr suggests its passage would be treated as a bullish surprise, a potent driver for price movement. However, political hurdles, including ethical clause debates and disclosures about the First Family's crypto profits, remain significant obstacles. Ultimately, the market awaits clarity on the Fed's terminal rate under Chair Warsh. Until the "Fed Solstice"—the point where the market collectively understands the peak of hawkish policy—sustained conviction will be difficult to achieve.

marsbitHace 33 min(s)

Podcast Notes | Conversation with GSR Asset Management Head: To Determine if This Crypto Rally is Real, Just Watch the Lending Rates on Aave

marsbitHace 33 min(s)

7 Months After the Collapse of Huiwang, Southeast Asia's Escrow Platforms Undergo a Major Reshuffle

Following the collapse of Huione Pay—dubbed the "Alipay of Southeast Asia"—seven months ago, the region's underground financial guarantee platform sector is undergoing a significant reshuffle. This power vacuum has been swiftly filled by emerging platforms such as XinBi, Tiger/Navigator, JinBei (renamed JinBo), Dali/Tiancheng, and FullyLight. These platforms, operating largely via Telegram and offering services like escrow for illicit transactions, have absorbed the vast user base and markets left behind by Huione. While positioning themselves as "trust intermediaries," their primary clientele consists of networks involved in online scams, money laundering, illegal gambling, and even human trafficking. For instance, the Tiger/Navigator platform explicitly provides "escrow" services for kidnapping-for-ransom operations ("强押车交易"). Data underscores the immense scale: Huione alone processed over $103 billion in cryptocurrency payments and facilitated over $31 billion through its escrow market before its downfall, linking it to Cambodia's notorious Prince Group. Since its collapse, competitors have seen explosive growth. For example, the XinBi platform has accumulated over $1.6 billion in total USDT revenue, while platforms like NewPay, OkPay (under Dali), and FullyLight Wallet collectively processed over $4.8 billion in USDT in a single year. This ecosystem thrives in regions like Cambodia and Myanmar, where regulatory gaps allow these platforms to act as critical financial infrastructure for sprawling cybercrime industries, from scam compounds to online casinos. The article concludes that the moniker "Southeast Asian Alipay" is a misnomer, obscuring the platforms' fundamental role in enabling serious criminal enterprises rather than representing legitimate financial innovation.

Odaily星球日报Hace 1 hora(s)

7 Months After the Collapse of Huiwang, Southeast Asia's Escrow Platforms Undergo a Major Reshuffle

Odaily星球日报Hace 1 hora(s)

Trading

Spot
活动图片