A New Cultural Symbol in the Encryption World: The Rise of the Fat Penguin

Recently, a group of adorable penguins is quietly changing the cultural narrative of the encryption world. Over the past weekend, several well-known encryption projects coincidentally changed their social media avatars to images of chubby penguins. This interesting social interaction actually reflects the industry's collective recognition of the long-term spirit and brand-building strategy of Pudgy Penguins. This chubby penguin is driving the grassroots encryption experiment towards mainstream culture.

The Fat Penguin Ignites the Avatar Trend Again, The Secret Behind the "Rebirth" of Small Images

Recently, Pudgy Penguins has sparked a trend of profile picture changes in the mainstream encryption community. Several industry giants, such as a certain trading platform, a certain NFT trading market, VanEck, MoonPay, and Jupiter, have successively updated their official social media profile pictures to the derivative images of Pudgy Penguins.

This is not the first time Pudgy Penguins has sparked a collective "head swap" trend. As early as the end of December 2024, after Pudgy Penguins completed a large-scale airdrop aimed at the community, a certain NFT trading market and Solana co-founder Toly were among the first to change their avatars to the chubby penguin.

On World Penguin Day, April 26, 2025, Pudgy Penguins officially released a commemorative poster, which was promptly responded to by several well-known institutions. VanEck, a certain DEX, Phantom, Moonshot, Gemini, and Helius all successively released avatars related to the pudgy penguins.

The reason behind the numerous encryption projects changing their avatars is not solely due to the personal influence of the Pudgy Penguins founder, nor is it just because of the cute and appealing visual style of the chubby penguins. It is more about the support and recognition of the constructive narrative and long-term culture behind it, as well as the affirmation of the rise of the encryption elite in entrepreneurship. It is worth mentioning that many founders in the encryption field are themselves holders of Pudgy Penguins NFTs.

During the hottest period of the NFT market, changing profile pictures to blue-chip NFTs was a social ritual for crypto players to showcase their identity, highlight their taste, and delineate their circles. However, as the sentiment in the NFT market cooled and speculative capital receded, the once ubiquitous blue-chip profile pictures quietly disappeared, and NFTs even acquired a negative label of investment failure.

Compared to most small image projects that "can only get on the table with money" and eventually fall into a slump, the key to the successful business transformation of Pudgy Penguins lies in its clear strategic planning, strong operational capability, and narrative construction. Since the NFT market entered a bear market in 2022, Pudgy Penguins has not been swallowed by market sentiment; instead, it has actively launched IP licensing and business implementation based on its unique and cute penguin image, telling a vivid story about brand building, cultural operation, and long-termism to the outside world.

Behind all this is the core operator Luca Netz, who possesses foresight and abundant resources. His brand management and operational approach aligns more with the aesthetics of traditional markets, which greatly distinguishes him from the insider thinking of many NFT project founders.

Pudgy Penguins has outperformed traditional strong IPs like Disney and Transformers in sales by launching a series of physical toys through collaborations with several retail giants. They have also partnered with top Hollywood talent agencies and children's book publishers to continuously expand derivative content while developing products such as Pudgy Party and Pengu Clash. Pudgy Penguins creates a long-term brand-building cycle through a high-recognition aesthetic language, combining offline toys, e-commerce, social content, and IP licensing, while actively penetrating mainstream culture.

Not only that, they also created viral spreads through mainstream social media platforms, and enhanced brand exposure and public awareness by appearing at Sotheby's auction, showcasing in Times Square, and hosting real-world events. This multi-dimensional marketing and communication strategy has helped Pudgy Penguins continuously expand their global influence, with an active audience growing rapidly to millions. According to Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz, as of July 2025, the global audience for Pudgy Penguins has reached 87.4 million, and it is expected to approach or exceed the target of 100 million by the end of the year, demonstrating significant growth potential.

It is precisely the Web2-style elite corporate operation of Pudgy Penguins that breaks the stereotype of speculation dominating the NFT and even the entire encryption market, showcasing the true value and extensibility of Web3 brands to the traditional world, making more and more traditional institutions willing to "pay" for Pudgy Penguins. Of course, for investors, the narrative path of Pudgy Penguins not only brings a price investment threshold but also tests the perception of trends, insight into business models, and judgment on ecological development.

More than just ringing the bell, opening the gateway to mainstream finance with VanEck and ETFs

The brand imagination of Pudgy Penguins goes beyond just IP storytelling. A penguin that originally only thrived in the encryption community and broke out with its cute image has unexpectedly appeared on the stage of the traditional financial market, making such a scene a reality for Pudgy Penguins. Behind this cross-industry breakthrough is the established investment management firm VanEck.

As early as June 2024, VanEck unexpectedly changed its social media avatar to Pudgy Penguins, openly stating, "The boss thinks it's too cute; we have to change the PFP." This is not only a lighthearted and humorous cultural interaction but also signifies that traditional financial giants are actively embracing native encryption IP.

Afterwards, VanEck not only used the image of the fat penguin in its promotional video for the Ethereum ETF scheduled for release in 2024, but also teamed up with Pudgy Penguins to ring the opening bell at Nasdaq when launching the DAPP ETF product recently. This marks the first time a Web3 native IP has landed on the global capital market stage, bringing unprecedented brand exposure to Pudgy Penguins and symbolizing its formal recognition in the financial sector.

VanEck's support for Pudgy Penguins seems to adopt a strategy of leveraging publicity. During the bell-ringing ceremony announcement on NASDAQ, VanEck introduced the event in a relatively neutral and objective tone on platforms targeting traditional investors and mainstream media, such as their official website, LinkedIn, and TikTok, emphasizing its encryption layout. However, on social platforms active in the encryption community, VanEck did not explicitly highlight the specific details of this bell-ringing event or other ecological projects. In contrast, Pudgy Penguins' own publicity team made a big splash on related platforms, attracting widespread discussion from the encryption community.

Regarding the recent popularity of the fat penguin avatar change, Matt Bartlett, the Web3 director at VanEck, further explained that what people care about is culture, not history. Some NFT projects, although they have undeniable historical significance, possess an innate "aloof" temperament that makes it difficult to achieve content co-creation or collaborative communication with brands. In contrast, Pudgy Penguins are different; they are cute, friendly, and have MEME potential, making them naturally suitable for dissemination. They are friendly enough for brands, children, and a broader mainstream audience while maintaining the spiritual core native to Web3. They do not exist to be "cool" but strive to be "adorable." This culture is shareable, imitable, and participatory. It spreads through memes, toys, language, and stories, inspiring public engagement. For this reason, more and more companies are willing to create content around Pudgy, recognize its value, and actively join 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 infectious power and resonance of culture. Pudgy Penguins are now defining a new cultural atmosphere.

More groundbreaking is that Pudgy Penguins is opening the path to advanced financial products. It is reported that a certain exchange has submitted a 19b-4 application file for the Canary PENGU ETF to the US SEC, 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 successfully passes the review, PENGU will become the first US ETF product to directly hold MEME or NFT, gradually becoming a core configuration target in mainstream investment portfolios.

Currently, the market sentiment for Pudgy Penguins has been driven up, and its ecosystem has also risen in response. Among them, the floor price of Pudgy Penguins NFTs has reached 14.19 ETH, setting a new high in nearly six months; the token PENGU has hit $0.03, with a 192.7% increase in the past 30 days, not far from its historical high.

Overall, from the small avatar images to cultural consumption brands, and then to financial asset targets, the comeback story of Pudgy Penguins not only positions itself as a visual asset that can be commercialized, socialized, and even financialized, but also marks a phased victory for the culture of encryption elites.