Why did the "fat penguin" NFT rise against the trend at the end of the year?

Overall, these initiatives have yielded good results, with Luca Schnetzler (Netz) revealing that sales of Pudgy Penguins branded merchandise (including T-shirts, hats and hoodies) were up sharply during this year's Christmas holiday season, leading to more toys and collectibles coming to the line in 2023.

Punk9059, head of research at NFT's club Proof Collective, analyzed that Pudgy Penguins has done well in this crypto winter because the project has attracted a lot of influential people to join, and because the project leaders have adopted a different strategy to "actually make money and sell actual products, rather than just relying on NFT royalties and then the project leaders relaxing and having fun all day.

Previously, it was announced that Pudgy Penguins was in talks with investors to raise a $10 million seed round through a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), which would value the company at $50 million if completed, or to issue tokens and launch a new "Rogs" concept in April 2024. However, Luca Schnetzler (Netz) denied raising capital but said he would return some of the project's profits to NFT holders, stressing that he would lead the company transparently and that he wanted to "build one of the biggest NFT brands in the world".

Interestingly, as the floor price of Pudgy Penguins, the "fat penguin," has risen to a record high, its sister project Lil Pudgys has also "risen" in the market, with the floor price having risen to 0.59 ETH, a 22.92% increase in the last 24 hours and a new all-time high for the currency denomination. In addition, the current market capitalization of the NFT series has risen to $15.51 million, with total trading volume reaching $12.95 million.