Those who have been around the NFT space long enough would remember the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection as one of the earliest blue chips. During its launch in mid-2021, the collection quickly stormed sales charts, making waves in the NFT space as the new favourite animal cartoon-themed PFP NFT project. NFT influencers supported the penguin avatars, celebrities wanted them, and even The New York Times featured them. Needless to say, all the attention meant that some of the <\/span>NFTs sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cut to 2022, however, the Pudgy Penguin NFT project took a turn for the worst amid rug pull accusations against its founder. This was followed by a new leadership taking over the project in a $2.5 million deal. Admittedly, while some wrote off the project as a rugpull, others questioned its future. Yet, in what is perhaps \u201cthe greatest comeback story\u201d, Pudgy Penguins\u2019 new leadership turned its future around. Despite the bear market, the project\u2019s sales shot up in August 2022, with one NFT even selling for 400 ETH (about $600,000 at the time).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So, how did things go wrong with the Pudgy Penguins NFT project? More importantly, how did the project make a phenomenal comeback?<\/span><\/p>\n This is the story of the Pudgy Penguins NFT project: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.<\/span><\/p>\n Launched in July 2021, Pudgy Penguins is a collection of 8,888 penguin avatar NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. The collection <\/span>sold out in barely 19 minutes<\/span><\/a>, making the penguin avatars an instant hit. At the time, some of the rare NFTs in the collection fetched as high as $463,500. What\u2019s more, celebrities like NBA All-Star, Steph Curry and Canadian rapper, Tory Lanez are among its collectors.<\/span><\/p>\n Currently, the project has raked in over 64,000 ETH or roughly $81 million in sales (at the time of writing). Besides, its floor price is 2.34 ETH.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The original creators of the Pudgy Penguins NFT project include Clayton Patterson (aka \u201cmrtubby\u201d), Mickyj, Jonah, and Cole Villemain (aka ColeTherium)\u2014most of them college students. One of the major reasons for the project\u2019s initial success was the many promises the founding team made. From a native token to a children\u2019s book and a metaverse game, the roadmap was quite tempting. Unfortunately, the founders not only failed to deliver on the many promises, but allegedly <\/span>tried to empty the project funds for themselves<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Pudgy Penguins NFT project\u2019s downfall started in December, 2021 when its community moderator, Darth <\/span>publicly exited the project<\/span><\/a>, calling out the founders for their \u201cunprofessional\u201d behaviour. Allegedly, he was promoted to the role of community manager without the two agreeing on job terms. Cole even allegedly offered Darth 1 ETH to keep quiet about the incident. To be sure, Cole has previously been associated with <\/span>several projects that rug pulled<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Later the next month, NFT influencer, 9x9x9 alleged that the Pudgy Penguin founders were trying to sell the project after taking all the money from the project. Additionally, they claimed to have rejected an offer to buy the project for 888 ETH. Disappointed, many of the Pudgy Penguin holders cancelled the project\u2019s founders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the controversies, some community members came forward to rescue the project. In April, a group led by Pudgy Penguins holder and Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, Luca Schnetzler <\/span>bought the project for a whopping 750 ETH<\/span><\/a> (around $2.5 million). This in itself led to an increase in NFT sales from the collection, with its floor price going up to 2.5 ETH after dropping as low as 0.7 ETH weeks before.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEverything is aligned to make this one of the most prevalent projects of all time,\u201d Schnetzler told <\/span>Coindesk<\/span><\/a> after the deal. He added that he plans to turn the project into \u201ca brand that\u2019s known both in and outside of the NFT world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n For the most part, Schnetzler\u2019s vision for Pudgy Penguins NFT is bearing fruit. Months after the acquisition, things are looking up in the penguin world\u2014or \u201cThe Huddle\u201d, as they call it. For example, in July, the project dropped its first soulbound token for plush physical collectibles. It has since released a range of other soulbound tokens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, in August, the project\u2019s sales shot up significantly after the team announced the Pudgy Toys lineup. Following the announcement, <\/span>the sales went up 370%<\/span><\/a> compared to the previous day. Moreover, in the same month, the rarest NFT in the collection sold for around $600,000.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Three](\"https:\/\/nftevening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Pudgy-scaled.jpg.webp)
\n<\/picture>\n<\/noscript>What is the Pudgy Penguins NFT?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Who Created<\/b> the Pudgy Penguins NFT?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
The collapse: Rug pull accusations against Pudgy Penguins Founders<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/nftevening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Pudgy-Penguins.jpeg.webp)
\n<\/picture>\n<\/noscript>New Leadership to the Rescue<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Pudgy](\"https:\/\/nftevening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/merch-scaled.webp\")