Author: Tong Deng, Jinse Finance
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, influenced by Binance's upcoming listing of Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), PNUT briefly reached $0.28, with an increase of 141.15% within 1 hour.
But the story of the squirrel goes far beyond just the rise and fall of the meme coin. In addition to the meme coin's fluctuations, this squirrel is associated with many other 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 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 30, 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 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 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 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 drew parallels with the "Black Lives Matter" movement in 2020, chanting 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 can't fix 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 cap is $53.97 million.
Since the New York environmental agency was 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 3, 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 the 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, 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 annotation: 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 represented a spirit of longing 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 - PNUT, the Creator of 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 has been widely sought after and 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 reached a recent peak 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 its backstory has resonated with people on social media. With the continued shilling from heavyweights like Musk and Trump, crypto whales were the first to smell 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 heavily on 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 trader created a new wallet and spent 15,132 SOL ($2.8 million) to buy Pnut and FRED in the past 2 hours. They spent 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 becoming unremarkable.
Calculated at $0.128, the price before the takeoff on November 11, the peak of around $2.27 this morning represents a surge of 1673% in just 4 days.
Why has PUNT surged recently?
First, against the backdrop of Trump's victory, the overall cryptocurrency market has been on the rise, and the former president's friendly attitude towards cryptocurrencies has excited crypto investors. And Musk, who has been shouting for Dogecoin, will take office in the "Department of Government Efficiency" during Trump's administration, and the abbreviation of the "Department of Government Efficiency" is the same as 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 as a result.
On November 13, Musk directly shilled PUNT: "A squirrel and a Meme coin saved America!" Driven by Musk, the number one Trump, PUNT has soared.
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 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 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 trading volume in the past 24 hours, Meme coins account for 6, namely DOGE, SHIB, PEPE, WIF, BONK and PNUT.
The influence of Memecoins goes far beyond just attracting cryptocurrency enthusiasts - they have become the most powerful portal for introducing cryptocurrencies to newcomers. PUNT's repeated new highs once again demonstrate 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, expressing 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 reminisce about this tree-dwelling sprite that once lived among us while enjoying the joy of wealth.
