Pudgy Penguins launch PENGU token on Solana with claims open for 88 days before being burned

Popular non-fungible token project Pudgy Penguins has launched its PENGU token, with eligible participants given just 88 days to claim before their tokens are burned and effectively removed from the supply.

The PENGU token is launching on the Solana network, with Ethereum and Abstract Chain compatibility to come later, and has a total supply of 88,888,888,888. Pudgy Penguins NFTs are based on the Ethereum network.

Claims went live at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday for holders of Pudgy Penguins, Lil Pudgys, Rogs and SBTs, Luca Netz, CEO of Igloo, the company behind the project, confirmed on X, with trading on centralized crypto exchanges, including Binance, Bybit and OKX to follow. Rogs are collectible and rare items in the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem, and SBTs (soulbound tokens) are non-transferable tokens issued to represent achievements, identity or participation. Claims are tied to the NFTs themselves for the core collections, while a snapshot for SBTs was taken on Dec. 8.

Ahead of the launch, Netz urged participants to ensure their Solana wallet had at least $10 worth of SOL on it to cover gas fees associated with making their claims, adding that Pudgy Penguins ecosystem holders would need to connect both their Solana and Ethereum wallets to claim, making desktop wallets the most suitable.

The team explained on its official Discord channel that participants can create a universal name linking their Pudgy Penguin to their wallet during the claiming process. This enables other projects to airdrop tokens to holders across Ethereum and Solana.

Holders of Pudgy Toys, physical plushies inspired by the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection, available at Walmart and Target stores and online, are also eligible for PENGU tokens — with some unconfirmed reports of the QR code inside their packaging being stolen in anticipation. However, the toys, connected to the Pudgy World metaverse, are built on Igloo’s Ethereum Layer 2 Abstract Chain, which is currently on testnet. Once the mainnet goes live, so will a PENGU bridge via LayerZero, enabling toy buyers to claim their tokens then, Netz explained.

The team said on Discord that in addition to the Pudgy Penguins community, approximately 7 million wallets are eligible to claim PENGU tokens, including users who have interacted with various protocols and members of different communities.

Pudgy Penguins rise up the NFT ranks

Pudgy Penguins first announced the planned token launch on Dec. 5. “With PENGU, the millions of Pudgy Penguin fans and the hundreds of millions of people outside of crypto that see and share the Pudgy Penguin every day finally have the opportunity to align themselves with the character,” the project said at the time.

As for PENGU’s tokenomics, 25.9% of the supply is allocated to the Pudgy Penguins community, while 24.12% will be distributed to other communities and new "Huddle" members. Some 17.8% are set aside for current and future team members with a one-year cliff and a three-year vesting period, and the company will retain 11.48% of the PENGU supply under the same conditions.

Launched in 2021, Pudgy Penguins has become one of the most popular NFT collections in the space. According to CoinGecko data, it recently  surpassed Bored Ape Yacht Club to become the second-largest NFT collection, with a market cap of $1.2 billion, just behind CryptoPunks’ $1.6 billion.