Pudgy Penguins Co-founder Cole Launches Spritehood NFT, Sells Out in One Hour
Pudgy Penguins co-founder Cole Villemain's NFT series Spritehood, consisting of 44,444 NFTs, launched on the Robinhood Chain and sold out in less than an hour after public minting began early Tuesday morning.
On-chain data shows that 37,430 NFTs were sold at $17 each, while 5,526 NFTs were sold at $117 each (corresponding to a $100 upgrade option on the minting page), totaling approximately $1.282852 million, equivalent to about 684.28 ETH at the time of contract minting.
Before the paid sales began, the contract deployer minted 1,488 NFTs for free through 20 zero-price transactions.
Villemain was voted out of the Pudgy Penguins project by holders in January 2022, and this return to the NFT space with a new series positions the project as highly customizable pixel RPG hero NFTs.
The minting was conducted on a first-come, first-served basis, with no whitelist, and a total supply of 44,444 NFTs.
The rapid sell-out indicates short-term enthusiasm in the NFT market for the return of well-known figures, with funds flowing from buyers to the project, increased activity in the secondary market, and heightened event-driven speculative sentiment.
The contract source code has not been fully verified, raising discussions in the community about the transparency of the mechanism.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Cole Villemain, as an early co-founder of Pudgy Penguins, was removed by community vote in 2022 and has since attempted to return under different identities. This time, he launched a new series directly on the emerging Robinhood Chain and achieved rapid fundraising.
The capital path is reflected in leveraging personal past project influence and low-barrier minting design to quickly gather funds, motivated by the resurgence in NFT trading volume and new chain opportunities, aiming to re-establish the role of the project party.
Similar to other figures who were removed or controversial in the community, the current phase is driven by celebrity effects and new chain combinations, creating a short-term minting frenzy.
Essentially, this is a concentration of capital, with the mechanism driven by past IP associations and rapid FOMO jointly boosting minting demand, while long-term delivery capabilities remain to be validated.
ABAB News · Cognitive Laws
Past controversies do not hinder short-term FOMO
New chain + old name is a quick fundraising combination
Sell-out speed often exceeds trust rebuilding