Pudgy Penguins’ PENGU Content Rewards Spark 52.9% Token Rally

Pudgy Penguins has introduced a fresh initiative to reward user-generated content (UGC) tied to the project’s native token, PENGU, offering creators $2 for every 1,000 views their work garners. Announced on X by Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz on April 27, the Pengu content creation rewards program, hosted on the Whop digital marketplace, has already fueled a 30% price surge for PENGU.

In his X post, Netz urged users to “make money by talking about PENGU,” encouraging them to produce UGC, memes, and posts featuring Pudgy Penguins or the PENGU token. “Create UGC, memes, X posts—anything around PENGU. Sign up on Whop and start earning $2 per 1K views,” he wrote. The campaign, now live on Whop, spans 13 days with a total reward pool of $4,987.40.

Creators must include Pudgy Penguins or PENGU in their content, alongside a link in bio to show where to buy PENGU. Eligible platforms include X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, with a maximum reward of $250 per user. As of writing in April 28, $177.46 in rewards pool has been earned by creators, which indicates 88,730 views of PENGU contents newly created, signaling active community engagement.

PENGU Token Surges 52.9%

The announcement triggered an immediate market response. Following Luca Netz’s X post on April 27, 2025, PENGU’s price began a steady climb, rising from $0.009025 to $0.01380, according to CoinMarketCap data tracked at press time. This 52.9% increase has pushed the token’s market cap to approximately $872.69 million. Additionally, PENGU's 24-hour trading volume surged to $558.21 million—a 214.65% jump from the previous day.

The Pengu Content Rewards campaign appears to be a strategic success, boosting community engagement and reigniting interest in the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem. By incentivizing content creation, the initiative is effectively turning community members into ambassadors for PENGU, amplifying its presence across platforms like X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Pudgy Penguins, originally launched in July 2021 as an Ethereum-based NFT collection of 8,888 unique penguins, faced early turbulence before Netz acquired it for $2.5 million in April 2022. Under Netz’s leadership, the project pivoted from a struggling NFT venture into a popular cultural IP, blending digital collectibles with physical merchandise. Pudgy Penguins has always been focused on creating content, toys, and digital collectibles, providing exclusive experiences, events, and IP licensing opportunities for its holders. The Pudgy Penguins ecosystem also includes the Abstract public chain, Pudgy Toys, Pudgy World, Lil Pudgy NFT, Pudgy Rod, Pudgy Bridge, and more. Over 1.5 million Pudgy Toys have been sold through retailers like Walmart and Target, while its multiple social media outlets have around 2 million followers.

Launched in December 2024 on the Solana blockchain with a total supply of 88.88 billion, the PENGU token was designed to deepen the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem. While its utility—potentially encompassing governance and exclusive perks—remains under development, it has carved out a niche as a “social currency” within the community. In January this year, PENGU reached a peak of $0.04595 during a wave of hype, only to slide to a low of $0.003822 as community activity and social buzz waned.

The Pengu content rewards program is now steering PENGU back into the social media spotlight. It could rekindle trading activity for both the token and the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection. However, sustaining this rally will depend on consistent creator participation. Not all feedback for the rewards program is glowing. Some X users have criticized the Pengu Content Rewards payout—$2 per 1,000 views—as “slavery”, arguing it may not sufficiently incentivize high-quality content over time. Without ongoing buzz, Pudgy Penguins may continue to waddle ahead.