Pudgy Penguins are a collection of 8,888 NFTs with proof of ownership stored on the Ethereum blockchain. Now under new owners, who knows what next for the flightless bird.
But the unique non-fungible token (NFT) project Pudgy Penguins voted out its founders on Thursday after they allegedly failed to deliver on stated goals and drained the treasury of funds. Now the Pudgy Penguins NFT project is under new leadership after the close of a long-awaited $2.5 million) sale.
A group led by Pudgy Penguins holder and Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Luca Netz will buy control of the project, along with royalties, from the original four co-founders of the project, according to people involved with the deal. Netz will be the new leader of The Huddle, his collaborator Cameron Moulène and several other stakeholders.
Control of the project will allow the buyers’ group to launch a token and conduct airdrops to other holders of the NFT series and other rights. Launched in July, Pudgy Penguins became one of the most successful NFT projects, raking in over $140 million in sales on the NFT marketplace OpenSea.
The collection consists of 8,888 chubby and flightless Antarctic creatures, including a mini NFT bird collection of 22,222, with each Lil Pudgy containing 400 different traits. While the sale might seem like exciting news for holders, others have raised concerns, claiming Netz wasn’t a well-known figure in the Penguins community before the acquisition.
But now, it seems that under new leadership, the NFT world may be overrun by penguin profiles and ever-lasting amounts of snow.
“I’m extremely optimistic and confident in Luca and the team he’s assembled,” Twitter user ActuallyAgents, who will remain in a leadership position under the new regime, told CoinDesk. “Aside from their great business track record, the philosophy of compassion and inclusivity he wants to bring to the penguins is something the space needs.”