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Memecoin PNUT Soars 200%, Reaches $1 Billion Market Cap on Back of Heartbreak
- Meme coins have shown strong market success in Trump’s burgeoning presidency, with cute animal mascots like Doge and Bonk particularly thriving.
- The latest meme coin, Peanut the Squirrel, has quickly gained attention due to its charming theme and unfortunate background.
- In just three days, Peanut the Squirrel’s coin surged by over 1,500% and entered the top 50 cryptos by market cap.
- The project is an homage to the social media sensation of the same name.
Animal-based meme coins are the truth.
There’s simply too much evidence to ignore it now – if you’re developing a meme coin project that’s NOT centred on a cute, fluffy character, you’re in for a rough time.
The latest contestant for meme coin of the week is Peanut the Squirrel, who has burst onto the scene from out of nowhere.
The impact of Peanut the Squirrel in a matter of days is jaw-dropping, but that’s what you get when you combine a cute animal with an engrossing, heart-breaking backstory.
Related: Super Doginals Hits Dogecoin Blockchain with Free Doge-Themed Beat-‘Em-Up Game
1,000% Gains, Top 50 Cryptos: Peanut the Squirrel Goes Nuts
Let me tick off some statistics to show just how impressive Peanut the Squirrel’s debut has been.
In three days of trading the coin has:
- Surged by 1,520%
- Jumped into the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap
- Amassed a market cap of over US $2b (AU $3b)
- Experienced a whopping US $5.75b (AU $9b) in 24h trading volume, placing it in the daily top 10 for investor activity.
Those who’ve followed the crypto market know that meme coins can go BONKers for seemingly no reason, but even by those standards, this is nuts.
But closer examination reveals that perhaps some of the hype is justified.
The Story Behind Peanut the Squirrel’s Rise to Stardom
The story behind Peanut the Squirrel is heartbreaking.
The squirrel, a New York native, lost its parents and was wandering the streets until it met human Mark Longo…seven years ago.
Mark, a compassionate man, took it upon himself to house the squirrel, while also adorning the new pet with fashionable clothing and giving him a place to stay.
After a few months of rehabilitation, Longo attempted to release the squirrel back into the wild, only to find Peanut back at his doorstep the next day. Clearly, the bond was mutual.
The squirrel quickly became an internet sensation – but not everybody was impressed.
Over the past month, Longo’s neighbours cottoned onto Peanut the Squirrel’s presence, and reported his presence to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.
Unfortunately for Longo, keeping a squirrel as a pet without a licence is illegal in the state, even though they’d been together for such a long time.
Social Media Reacts to Peanut the Squirrel
The worst part of the story comes next.
Fearing that Peanut may have been harbouring rabies, unbeknownst to Longo’s household, the NY Conservation team confiscated the squirrel to test for the disease.
Sadly, the only way to test for rabies is by euthanising the animal – leading to Peanut’s devastating passing at the hands of a County Health Department.
To make matters more upsetting, Longo had used Peanut’s social media fame to fund his own nonprofit conservation sanctuary, which housed hundreds of lost or rehabilitated animals.
Life isn’t a fairytale, and the terrible news kept on coming in – upon completion of the test, it was revealed Peanut did not have rabies.
Social media reacted to the news with a wave of fury.
RIP Peanut the Squirrel.
Author
Ben Knight
Ben Knight is a writer and editor from Melbourne with a passion for all things music and finance. He enjoys turning complex topics – especially the technical details of cryptocurrency – into digestible bites that anybody can understand. He acquired his Master’s in Writing, Editing and Publishing from RMIT in 2019 and has run his own creative writing business ever since.
