Author: Deng Tong, Jinse Finance
On November 14th at 9:15 Beijing time, Binance market data shows that PNUT (Peanut the Squirrel) briefly broke through $2.5, closing at $2.4158, setting a new all-time high with a 24-hour gain of 422.3%. This is not the first time PNUT has attracted attention with its surging price. On November 13th at 20:26, PNUT briefly broke through $1.5, closing at $1.515, with a 24-hour gain of 247.41%; on November 11th, possibly influenced by Binance's listing of Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), PNUT briefly reached $0.28, with a 141.15% gain within 1 hour.
But the story of the squirrel goes far beyond just the rise and fall of a MEME coin. This squirrel is associated with many tags - 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 Peanut could not survive in the wild due to its injuries, so he cared for it until it recovered its health and became its caretaker.
Longo, the owner, often shared its daily life on Instagram. Mark not only used these videos to attract fans, but also founded an animal rescue organization in Peanut's name to raise funds for animals in need.
However, on October 30th, after receiving an anonymous report, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) took Peanut away and detained it. Longo told the media: "They treated me like a terrorist, the entire 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 police to check the toilet for hidden items when I went to the bathroom."
Mark launched a petition campaign calling for the release of the squirrel he had shared 7 years with, which attracted a lot of attention from supporters.
Subsequently, on November 2nd, the news of Peanut's euthanasia spread, causing strong outrage on the internet. Longo stated on social media: "This is a terrible nightmare for me. Community members condemned DEC's violent law enforcement and drew parallels 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.
Musk also joined the mourning activity, posting multiple tweets in support of Peanut.
At the time, the US election was in its most intense phase. On November 4th, Musk pinned a tweet on the X social platform saying, "For Peanut! For freedom, vote." Data shows that Peanut's current market cap 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 the opportunity to speak out several times:
Trump said: If this squirrel came from Mexico, the government would give it a hotel and a shopping card. The Democratic government's treatment of the little squirrel is a waste of resources.
Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., said: Peanut's death should catalyze real change, and vote out the current government.
On November 3rd, Pence said at a rally in North Carolina that Trump was "furious" about the squirrel's death, 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, nor do they want us to have pets, it's just crazy."
The Democratic party's shenanigans and Trump's statements clearly ignited the public's electoral emotions, with some even calling on social media to vote for Trump to avenge Peanut.
(The image roughly means: Kamala's party executed a cute pet squirrel named Peanut this week because they are crazy, vote Trump to avenge Peanut! Serious note: If Trump were to include Peanut in his speech and put an RIP graphic behind him, then this race would be officially over, and we would have to seek justice for Peanut!)
At this point, Peanut represented a yearning for freedom and democracy, and the fate of this little squirrel had become tied to the US election, becoming another dimension for Trump's team to attack Harris' team.
This Life - The PNUT That Creates 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, being chased and worshipped by the public, sparking the most fervent MEME coin craze. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, PNUT has been skyrocketing in recent days. According to Coingecko data, PNUT reached a recent high of around $2.27 around 9:00 this morning, 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 with regret. It has resonated on social media. With the continued shilling from big names like Musk and Trump, crypto whales were the first to smell the profit opportunity in PNUT:
On November 5th, 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 6th, according to ai_9684xtpa monitoring, as Pnut violently rebounded 127% in the past 24 hours, the mysterious mega-whale who had previously spent 11,600 SOL heavily on Pnut, FRED and OPK, saw their 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. Spent 11,582 SOL ($2.14 million) to buy 17.35 million Pnut at $0.12.
On November 10th, 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 11th, there were still news of whales buying in, and subsequently, 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 at $0.128 before the price surge on November 11th, the peak of around $2.27 this morning represents a staggering 1673% increase in just 4 days.
So why has PNUT been skyrocketing recently?
First, against the backdrop of Trump's victory, the cryptocurrency market has generally risen, and the former president's friendly attitude towards cryptocurrencies has excited cryptocurrency investors. And Musk, who has been shouting for Dogecoin, will take office in the "Government Efficiency Department" during Trump's administration, and the abbreviation of the "Government Efficiency Department" coincides with the abbreviation of Dogecoin DOGE, the number one Meme coin Dogecoin has ushered in a brand new market cycle, and the PUNT that Musk has endorsed has also risen sharply, which is understandable.
Secondly, the recent surge in PUNT is related to the overall MEME market performance. In this round of cryptocurrency bull market cycle, the most eye-catching performances are Bitcoin and the MEME sector. According to SoSoValue data, the MEME sector has risen by 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 performed impressively, 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 Memecoin goes far beyond just attracting cryptocurrency enthusiasts - they have become the most powerful portal for introducing cryptocurrencies to newcomers. PUNT's repeated new highs have once again demonstrated the unique charm of MEME coins - they deliberately break away from the traditional cryptocurrency narrative game, and instead embrace 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 cryptocurrency world, and it is hoped that people will occasionally remember this tree-dwelling sprite that once lived among us while enjoying the joy of wealth.
