How long has it been since Binance Alpha listed a Solana meme? The last Solana to be listed on Binance Alpha was JELLYJELLY ($JELLY), on February 26, 2025, which is almost a year ago.
The reason $JELLY was able to launch wasn't "pure"; it was related to the Hyperliquid incident. If we set the standards more strictly and exclude AI meme coins like Zerebro and ElizaOS that can "get things done," the last pure Solana meme coin that didn't launch on Binance Alpha due to other factors was Fartcoin, on December 18, 2024.
We've finally got another Solana meme listed on Binance Alpha—$PENGUIN (Nietzschean Penguin).
The token's story originates from a viral clip in the 2007 documentary "Encounters at the End of the World" by German director Werner Herzog. In that clip, a penguin turns its back on its colony and heads towards the sea, the place where food and life reside.
Driven by the sea, it ventured alone deep inland, heading towards distant icebergs, a distance of 5,000 kilometers. Everyone knew this meant hunger and cold, exhaustion, and certain death.
By the mid-2010s, the video had become widely known for its "nihilistic" interpretation. In late August 2015, YouTube user Seppe uploaded the clip to YouTube with the title "Nihilistic Penguin," and this version quickly went viral, garnering nearly 2 million views to date.
This old meme has gradually regained its vitality on TikTok and Instagram since the beginning of this year. Just like the meme's name, "Nietzsche Penguin/Nihilistic Penguin," almost every viral video and emoji related to it features the keyword "But Why?" People all over the world are using this meme to question themselves—but why am I living my life this way?
Society tells us we should find a good job, get married and have children, and think less about meaningless or unrealistic things. But isn't the meaning of life precisely in exploring it in the way we want to? They'll ask us why, but there's no why; it's simply what we want to do. Living authentically, ignoring societal expectations, is transcending oneself.
If this meme had followed its original trajectory, $PENGUIN would simply be like $NEET, reflecting contemporary people's desire to escape the secular "system," pursue freedom, explore themselves, and awaken their self-awareness. However, the White House's use of this meme has given it a new meaning, transforming it from a social media trend/awareness-awakening meme into a political one.
Yesterday morning at 6 a.m., the White House X account posted a tweet that read "Embrace the penguin," accompanied by a picture of the Nietzsche penguin holding an American flag and walking with Trump toward a distant iceberg.
At 10:30 p.m. on the same day, the White House X account quoted the tweet again, with the text, "This penguin doesn't care about the opinions of those who don't understand it."
These two tweets coincide with Trump's renewed public expression of interest in acquiring Greenland. Trump first raised this idea back in 2019, and despite the tumultuous process of losing the election and then winning it again, he has not given up his desire for Greenland.
This desire, in the eyes of most, is a crazy delusion. The White House's use of this meme amplifies the personal perspective of exploring the meaning of life, emphasizing that Trump is not bothered by ridicule and real obstacles, but dares to think and act, and moves forward firmly, packaging Trump's "madness" as a kind of heroism and the pursuit of America First.
The accompanying image sparked a wave of ridicule. Netizens argued that penguins don't exist in the Arctic, and this common-sense error was as anti-intellectual as Trump's suggestion during the pandemic to inject disinfectant to kill the virus. Interestingly, however, many netizens took the image to a new level, linking Trump's proposal to buy Greenland to the historical event of the US purchasing Alaska from Russia in 1867, suggesting it represents America's "manifest mission"—a unique mission for the US to expand its influence, disseminate its institutions, or acquire resources.
There are no penguins in the Arctic? No problem, Trump wants them, Trump gets them. This is interpreted as a Trumpian humor, conveying the spirit of "reality doesn't matter, willpower does"—the idea that human will can conquer nature.
At this point, we can understand why $PENGUIN evokes such high expectations from crypto enthusiasts as $PNUT. This expectation resonates significantly with the reality of the Solana meme coin—after that glorious meme season, we haven't seen a meme coin break through a $100 million market capitalization within 10 days of its launch for far too long.
The fact that Binance Alpha has "purely" listed Solana meme again after more than a year has excited crypto players, who see it as Binance opening its arms to Solana meme once more and the beginning of Solana meme regaining its glory.
This time, do we dare to think, will we really get it?
