Around 9 AM Beijing time on November 14, the market showed that PNUT (Peanut the Squirrel) briefly broke through $2.5, closing at $2.4158, setting a new all-time high with a 24-hour increase of 422.3%. This is not the first time PNUT has attracted attention with its surge. Around 8 PM on November 13, PNUT briefly broke through $1.5, closing at $1.515, with a 24-hour increase of 247.41%; on November 11, affected by Binance's upcoming listing of Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), PNUT briefly touched $0.28, with an increase of 141.15% within 1 hour. But the story of the squirrel goes far beyond the rise and fall of the MEME coin. In addition to the meme coin, this squirrel is associated with many labels - the US election, Trump, Musk, euthanasia... The story began even before the US election.
Past Life - The Internet-famous Squirrel Caused a Political Incident During the Election
The story of this little squirrel can be traced back 7 years ago, when Mark Longo rescued it after seeing Peanut's mother hit by a car. Longo believed that Peanut could not survive in the wild due to its injuries, so he took care of it until it recovered. The owner Longo often shared its daily life on Instagram. Not only did Mark use these videos to attract fans, but he also founded an animal rescue organization in Peanut's name to raise funds for animals in need. However, on October 30, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) received an anonymous report and took Peanut away and detained it. Longo told the media: "They treated me like a terrorist, the whole raid operation was like a drug bust. My house was ransacked, my wife was even questioned about her immigration status, and I was accompanied by the police to check the toilet for hidden items when I went to the bathroom." Mark launched a petition calling for the release of the squirrel he had spent 7 years with, which attracted a lot of support. Subsequently, on November 2, the news of Peanut's euthanasia spread, causing strong outrage on the internet. Longo said on social media: "This is a terrible nightmare for me." Community members condemned DEC's violent law enforcement and compared the incident to the 2020 "Black Lives Matter" movement, putting forward the slogan "Squirrel Lives Matter". The DEC director was mocked as a "Karen" for his tough attitude, and the Democratic government also became the focus of public opinion, with countless voters criticizing "the government has resources to kill a squirrel, but cannot repair the big bridges on the streets?"
Musk also joined the mourning activity, posting multiple tweets in support of Peanut.
At that time, the US election was in its most intense stage. On November 4, Musk pinned a tweet on the X social platform, saying, "For PNut! For freedom, vote." Data shows that Peanut's current market value is $53.97 million.
Since the New York environmental agency is under Democratic control, many people condemned the authorities for abusing their power. Trump's campaign team also took this opportunity to speak up multiple times: Trump said that if this squirrel came from Mexico, the government would give it a hotel and shopping cards. The Democratic government's treatment of the little squirrel is a waste of resources. Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., said that Peanut's death should catalyze real change, and voters should vote out the current government. On November 3, Pence said at a rally in North Carolina that Trump was "outraged" by the death of the squirrel, and that Peanut's death made people question the government's priorities. "The government doesn't care about thousands of illegal immigrant criminals entering our country, and they don't want us to have pets, it's just crazy." The shenanigans of the Democratic Party and Trump's statements clearly aroused the electoral emotions of the public, and some even called on social media to vote for Trump to avenge Peanut.
(The content of the image roughly means: Kamala's party executed a cute pet squirrel named Peanut this week because they are crazy, vote for Trump to avenge Peanut! Serious note: If Trump includes Peanut in his speech and puts an RIP graphic behind him, then this game is officially over, and we must seek justice for Peanut!) At this point, Peanut represents a yearning for freedom and democracy, and the fate of this little squirrel has been tied to the US election, becoming another dimension for Trump's team to attack Harris' team.
This Life - PNUT Creating Astronomical Wealth
The US election is over, but the story of this little squirrel continues. In the crypto world, this little squirrel has transformed into the MEME coin PNUT, which is being pursued by the public and has sparked the most fervent MEME coin craze. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, PNUT has been soaring in recent days. According to Coingecko data, PNUT's price reached a recent high of around $2.27 around 9 AM today, with a 24-hour trading volume of $5.501 billion.
PNUT is a MEME coin launched on the Solana blockchain, and the story behind it makes people sigh. It has resonated on social media. With the continuous shilling from big names like Musk and Trump, crypto whales first sniffed out the profit opportunity in PNUT: On November 5, according to Lookonchain monitoring, over the past 3 days, a certain whale spent 13,642 SOL ($2.22 million) to buy Pnut, FRED and OPK, currently showing an unrealized loss of $1.44 million. Of which, 7,142 SOL ($1.16 million) was spent to buy 14.46 million Pnut, now showing a loss of $553,400 (-48%). On November 6, according to monitoring by ai_9684xtpa, as PNUT soared 127% in the past 24 hours, the mysterious whale that had previously spent 11,600 SOL to heavily position in Pnut, FRED and OPK, saw its unrealized loss narrowed from $1.48 million to $183,000, close to breaking even. On the same day, a certain trader created a new wallet and spent 15,132 SOL ($2.8 million) to buy Pnut and FRED in the past 2 hours, spending 11,582 SOL ($2.14 million) to buy 17.35 million Pnut at $0.12. On November 10, according to Solscan data, the address starting with js5Lja has accumulated about 28.83 million Pnut (worth over $2.4 million) in the past 6 days, becoming the largest holder. On November 11, there were still news of whales buying in, and then exchanges like Binance and OKX listed PNUT, and the MEME coin PNUT's market performance gradually went crazy, with triple-digit daily gains being nothing unusual. Calculated based on the $0.128 price before the takeoff on November 11, the peak of around $2.27 this morning, PNUT has surged 1673% in just 4 days.
So, why has PUNT surged recently?
First, against the backdrop of Trump's victory, the overall crypto market sentiment has been bullish, and the former president's friendly attitude towards cryptocurrencies has excited crypto investors. And Musk, who has been shilling Doge, will take office in the "Department of Government Efficiency" during Trump's administration, and the abbreviation of the "Department of Government Efficiency" coincides with the abbreviation of Doge, the number one Meme coin, which has ushered in a brand new market cycle, and the surge of PUNT, which Musk has also endorsed, is understandable. On November 13, Musk directly shilled PUNT: "A squirrel and a Meme coin saved America!" Driven by Musk, the number one Trump supporter, PUNT has soared.
Secondly, the recent surge of PUNT is related to the overall Meme market sentiment. In this round of crypto bull market cycle, the standout performers are Bitcoin and the Meme sector. According to SoSoValue data, the Meme sector has risen 11.90% overall. In addition, the Trump-themed concept sector has performed well, with a gain of 189.05%, among which Peanut the Trump (PNUT) has stood out, with a 24-hour gain of 324.49% and a trading volume of over $6 billion. In terms of overall market trading volume, Meme projects continue to attract a large amount of liquidity. Among the top 10 cryptocurrencies (excluding stablecoins) in terms of trading volume in the past 24 hours, Meme coins account for 6, namely DOGE, SHIB, PEPE, WIF, BONK and PNUT. The influence of Memecoins has far exceeded the scope of just attracting crypto enthusiasts - they have become the most powerful portal for introducing cryptocurrencies to newcomers. The repeated new highs of PUNT once again demonstrate the unique charm of Meme coins - they deliberately break away from the traditional crypto currency narrative game, and instead embrace the community and entertainment-based intrinsic value, and express the demands of the general public in a free atmosphere.
Summary
From a happy living internet celebrity squirrel to a political figure endorsed by figures like Musk and Trump, to a Meme coin that has created tens of billions of dollars, the fate of this little squirrel may have been destined to be different from the moment it was rescued 7 years ago. Peanut may be a victim of the US election, but it has inspired people's fighting spirit and expressed the ordinary people's longing for freedom and philanthropy. In the future, PUNT may continue to replace Peanut in the crypto world, and it is hoped that people will occasionally reminisce about this tree-dwelling sprite that once dwelt among us, while enjoying the joy of wealth.
