Pudgy Penguins has denied hypothesis that it acquired NFT market OpenSea, following a wave of social media chatter suggesting a deal might have closed as early as December 2024.
In a Saturday publish on X, Beau, head of safety at Pudgy Penguins, dismissed the acquisition speak. “Pudgy Penguins didn’t purchase OpenSea… chill,” he wrote.
He claimed that the mission has massive plans, so there’s no must give attention to only one potential acquisition. “Speak about partnering with Lufthansa and NASCAR, and go discover the following nice model for us to proliferate with,” Beau wrote.
Pudgy Penguins is a group of 8,888 flightless fowl NFTs launched in July 2021. The mission has additionally expanded into bodily merchandise with a Pudgy Toys line in partnership with PMI Toys, permitting NFT holders to earn from business use by its OverpassIP platform.
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Rumors of Pudgy Penguins’ curiosity in OpenSea
The rumors of OpenSea’s acquisition gained traction after a number of X customers pointed to previous feedback by CEO Luca Netz, together with a now-resurfaced October 2024 publish the place he stated he wished his firm to purchase OpenSea.
Different neighborhood members speculated that a purchase order might have occurred quietly, citing coincidental timing with Pudgy’s December bulletins and OpenSea’s later coverage shifts round token assist.
Nonetheless, Beau pushed again on the narrative. “I don’t really suppose buying OS rn would make a variety of sense for us,” he wrote in an earlier reply, emphasizing the crew’s desire to give attention to confirmed developments fairly than hypothesis.
Pudgy Penguins has not too long ago leaned into model partnerships, together with tie-ups with Lufthansa and NASCAR. Final month, the mission additionally launched a skill-based Web3 sport known as Pengu Conflict for The Open Community (TON) blockchain, becoming a member of the aggressive mini-game area.
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NFT market rebounds as CryptoPunks lead $6.6B surge
The NFT market is exhibiting renewed momentum, with complete market capitalization hitting $6.6 billion in July, a 94% soar from the earlier month, in line with DappRadar. Weekly buying and selling volumes additionally climbed 51%, marking the strongest efficiency since February.
Main the comeback is the Ethereum-based assortment CryptoPunks, whose flooring costs jumped 53%. DappRadar analysts famous the gathering’s enduring enchantment as a Web3 standing image. On July 22, CryptoPunks noticed 83 new purchases and a 15.9% flooring value rise inside 24 hours, reaching almost $180,000 per Punk.
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