These days, I used the Pudgy Penguins airdrop to buy a house in a good school district, which is a Christmas gift for my daughter.
Years from now, she may no longer have to fight her way through the crowds in Shandong, and I am truly grateful to the Pudgy Penguins.
At this moment, it has been 1,090 days since I joined the Pudgy Penguins community. Over the past 3 years, even with the market downturn and tight finances, I never thought about selling, because the Pudgy Penguins are like another child, worth a lifetime of devotion.
Retracing back to December 2021, when my daughter was just 6 months old and I had just resigned from a certain job, with no money in hand and no idea about the future, I just took it one step at a time.
Even so, I still spent 0.7 E to buy the Pudgy Penguins (worth $2,800 at the time), simply because I have a deep fondness for these chubby little penguins, and even if they went to zero, I still think they look good, without any expectation of them issuing tokens or receiving any airdrops.
From that time on, I have had two children, one who needs me to work hard to earn money, buy milk powder and toys, and the other who needs me to preach and help more newcomers join.
To be honest, both of these tasks are not easy, but I am very happy, because love can withstand the long years, and gentleness can withstand the difficult times.
Today, standing at the new starting point of the Pudgy Penguins, I would like to share some of the highlights of the past three years, as a way to account for the past, and hopefully it will be inspiring to you.
1. First Impression of Pudgy Penguins: Instant Internet Celebrity
The Pudgy Penguins were a phenomenal NFT in 2021, with celebrity endorsements from the likes of Steph Curry, and were deeply covered by The New York Times. The short-term return rate exceeded 100x, and the weekly trading volume at its peak exceeded that of Punks and BAYC.
When I first learned about the Pudgy Penguins, the floor price was less than 0.5 E, but I hesitated to make a move, and watched helplessly as the floor price soared to several E. Later, due to the poor market conditions and internal conflicts in the Pudgy Penguins community, the floor price once fell below 1 E.
For me, this was the perfect opportunity to get in, so I decisively made the move, paying for my love, and indulged in Web3 a bit.
During that time, I spent a lot of time in the Pudgy Penguins Discord, feeling the warmth and unity of the Pudgy Penguins family, which was a very good feeling, and even now when I think about it, it's still sweet.
2. Turning Point: Luca Invested 750E to Take Over
The good times didn't last long, and the Pudgy Penguins faced their darkest hour.
First, the Pudgy Eggs unboxing was criticized by the community, and then the team was accused of running off with all the raised ETH and planning to sell the project, and Opensea even temporarily delisted the Pudgy Penguins.
This series of setbacks tested every member of the community, and no one knew what the future held. Fortunately, many people chose to stand firm and accompany the Pudgy Penguins through the difficult times.
The turning point came in April 2022. At that time, Los Angeles entrepreneur Luca invested 750E to take over the Pudgy Penguins, reorganize the team, and design a roadmap.
This event was a milestone, like a beacon of light in the darkness, illuminating every member of the community, and illuminating the path forward for the Pudgy Penguins.
At that time, I specifically created a Chinese channel for the team, but there was not much activity in the Chinese community, and the channel was later hidden, which was a pity.
3. Counterattack: Simultaneous Efforts in Web2 and Web3
Under Luca's leadership, the Pudgy Penguins embarked on a counterattack, simultaneously expanding in Web2 by maintaining a stable cash flow through merchandise, clothing and other peripherals, while continuously innovating in Web3, collaborating with major projects on cross-chain and SBT initiatives.
As a result, during the entire NFT bear market, the Pudgy Penguins floor price not only did not drop, but rose, becoming one of the few blue-chip projects that did not rely on Ponzi schemes to maintain its floor price, and was the flagship of the entire NFT sector.
Here I must mention the Pudgy Penguins' advisory team, which spans almost all Web3 tracks, including VCs and founders of top projects, and the combined influence of these heavyweights is nothing short of a nuclear weapon.
Through the efforts of the entire community, the Pudgy Penguins have become a successful counterattack example, and the Pudgy Penguins spirit has been endowed with all the wonderful qualities of unity, optimism, courage and innovation.
As a result, various projects have been offering olive branches in the form of airdrops, including DYM, OMNI, ZK, L0 and so on. Roughly estimated, the Pudgy Penguins have received at least $100,000 worth of external airdrops.
4. Preaching: Promoting Out of Love
During the Pudgy Penguins' counterattack process, I have been continuously promoting them in an unofficial contributor capacity on Twitter, WeChat groups, Discord and other channels, and have even assisted the Chinese community manager in operating the WeChat group and hosting Spaces.
Sharing some data: from 2021 to the present, I have published dozens of Pudgy Penguins posts/articles, with a total readership of several hundred thousand; in the WeChat group, I have posted thousands of Pudgy Penguins messages, and have persuaded many group members to purchase Pudgy Penguins and participate in L0 cross-chain.
Now, these group members have achieved returns far beyond their expectations through the Pudgy Penguins, and have even achieved social mobility, and I am truly happy for them. Being able to be their "guide" is the most valuable thing I have done in the past three years.
The only regret is that I did not receive the Pudgy Penguins Influencer SBT. What I value is not the rewards behind the SBT, but the affirmation of my past contributions.
5. Gratitude: Exchange and Media Support
On the Pudgy Penguins' journey forward, there are many people and things to be thankful for. At this moment, the first ones that come to mind are Binance and Odaily.
First, let's talk about Binance. They announced the HODLer airdrop plan on the eve of the Pudgy Penguins TGE, including $PENGU in it, so that BNB holders could share 3% of the total token supply.
Binance's move is consistent with the Pudgy Penguins' philosophy all along, which is to attract more users to join the community. This is also very evident in the design of the official airdrop rules, where you will see that many NFT players and active on-chain addresses have received airdrops of considerable value.
In fact, Binance's strategy has always been to bring incremental users to Web3, which is in line with the Pudgy Penguins. In the future, I look forward to deeper cooperation between the two, to jointly explore some out-of-the-box activities to help the prosperity of Web3.
Another entity that deserves thanks is Odaily. In my opinion, they are the Chinese media that understands the Pudgy Penguins the best, not only does the team hold Pudgy Penguins, but they have also written a large number of in-depth articles about the Pudgy Penguins, helping many Chinese users understand the Pudgy Penguins.
Let me share a small story. Last December, the Pudgy Penguins were preparing to expand their Chinese influence, so they consulted me. After a comprehensive evaluation, I connected the Pudgy Penguins with Odaily, and assisted in completing Luca's first interview in the Chinese media: "Odaily Interview with Pudgy Penguins CEO: Pudgy Penguins is an Image that Everyone Will Love".
6. The Future: Fully Participate in Abstract Building
$PENGU is the first step, and Abstract is the second step.
As the L2 that the Pudgy Penguins are deeply involved in, Abstract is building a consumer-level network, with a target user base not limited to the Web3 traffic, but with a global market in mind, helping Web2 institutions, projects and individuals to enter Web3 with a low threshold.
Objectively speaking, many projects have used this narrative to hype, but so far I haven't seen a successful one, and the ultimate result is just internal carving, without much practical significance.
However, Abstract is different, with the Pudgy Penguins behind it. If the Pudgy Penguins can't do it, then other L2s have no chance.
Since September this year, I have published several Abstract participation tutorials. If you copied the homework in time, you have already received a lot of $PENGU airdrops.
Even if you miss the pump, it doesn't matter. The Abstract mainnet will be launched in January next year, and it's not too late to lay in wait now. You can directly search for my previous tweets for the specific participation methods, and you can also leave a message if you have any questions.
Finally, I would like to emphasize that the Abstract Chinese community has been established, and it is said that there will be some exclusive activities in the future. Continuous participation may have surprises.
