Luca Netz's Non-Fungible Token project has appeared on the exterior screens of the Las Vegas Sphere, with its official animated presentation airing on Christmas Eve.
During Christmas week, Pudgy Penguins ran an animated show on the Las Vegas Sphere, projecting the project's penguin characters across a system of LED screens outside the venue.
In a post on X, Pudgy Penguins stated that their animations had been broadcast since Christmas Eve on the exterior of the Las Vegas Sphere – a famous dome structure covered in high-resolution LED panels that can display large-scale images and are visible along the Las Vegas Strip.
Pudgy Penguins is an Non-Fungible Token project founded in 2021 and acquired by entrepreneur Luca Netz in April 2022 for $2.5 million in Ether. As Non-Fungible Token revenue declined, Netz leveraged his experience in the consumer goods sector to expand the project beyond digital collectibles, moving into the production of physical toys to generate cash flow.
“Toys generate huge revenue, but the profit margins are quite thin,” Netz Chia Cointelegraph in an August interview. “We’re selling millions of dollars worth of toys every day, but it’s taking time to scale this business.”
What initially started as a short-term solution to extend the company's financial runway has now evolved into a core business, positioning Pudgy Penguins to end the year with estimated revenue of around $50 million.
The company also prioritizes the Instagram platform for brand promotion. At the time of writing, the Pudgy Penguins account has approximately 2 million Watcher.
2025 will be a challenging year for the Non-Fungible Token market.
The Non-Fungible Token market enters 2025 under significant pressure, with trading activity declining sharply. Volume in the first quarter fell 63% year-on-year to just $1.5 billion, compared to $4.1 billion in the same period of 2024.
The decline worsened in March, when monthly sales plummeted 76%, from $1.6 billion a year earlier to $373 million. However, a few collections, including Pudgy Penguins, showed relatively good resilience.
By the end of the year, market valuations had also plummeted. Data from CoinGecko shows that the total Non-Fungible Token market Capital fell to around $2.5 billion in December — the lowest level in 2025.
However, despite the overall downturn, some Non-Fungible Token projects are still finding their own niche. One area showing positive signs in 2025 is Non-Fungible Token linked to real-world collectibles, especially trading cards. Platforms like Courtyard.io link validated Pokémon cards to on-chain Token , enabling trading or redemption.
According to CryptoSlam , Courtyard processed over 230,000 transactions and generated approximately $13.9 million in sales over the past 30 days.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Courtyard CEO Nicolas le Jeune emphasized the importance of using blockchain as a “tool, not an end.”
“The cards you buy on Courtyard aren’t worth more just because they’re Non-Fungible Token. The value lies in the underlying asset — Non-Fungible Token just offer you a better way to experience it,” he said.
