Morning Minute | Pudgy Penguins in 2,000 Walmarts

TylerD's Market Summary

Pudgy toys are now available in 2,000 Walmarts across the U.S. But the question on everyone's mind - what does it mean for holders? 

🐧 Pudgy Penguins Enter A Brave New World

Luca Netz said that their next announcement would be the biggest yet.

And he didn't let down.

On Tuesday, Luca and the Pudgy Penguins team revealed that Pudgy toys are now live for sale at Walmart, in 2,000 stores nationwide.

It was arguably the single biggest PFP announcement of 2023.

The Details

For a quick TLDR of the announcement:

• 26 different Pudgy Toys will be sold in Walmarts, priced from $2.99-$11.97; 3 of which are exclusive to Walmart
• Each Pudgy Toy acts as an access point to Pudgy World; by scanning a QR code on the box, the owner unlocks the Pudgy "metaverse" which involves an immersive open-world digital player experience
• The toys pay homage to other NFT collections, incorporating traits from popular NFTs like Meebits and DeGods, and offering licensing royalties to existing NFT holders
• Golden ticket - random toys come with a golden ticket which unlocks rare traits in Pudgy World

Not only are the toys in Walmart, they have their own pallet set ups. This makes them more "featured" than toys simply on shelves in the stores.

Luca commented on the partnership with Walmart, stating "Merging unique digital experiences with blockchain technology is transforming the toy industry. Walmart's inclusion symbolizes the evolving consumer-brand relationship in the digital age."

Walmart even tweeted about the partnership, going semi-viral as Pudgy and Web3 fans flocked to share the post.

More information should be released soon on Project Overpass and the next wave of Pudgy IP unlock and monetization.

Market Reaction

Most recent PFP announcements have led to market downturn.

Not this one.

Here are the numbers:

• Pudgy Penguins +12% to 5.19 ETH (and top mover on the day with 977 ETH volume)
• Lil Pudgys +11% to 0.44 ETH
• Pudgy Rogs +8% to 0.35 ETH

Pudgys flipped MAYC on the day, now squarely the #3 PFP behind just Punks and Apes.

All while the general question continues to be surfaced - what does this mean for holders?

Why Does It Matter

Here's why Pudgy toys in Walmart matters:

• It provides a massive revenue stream for the project, allowing them to continue building out products (like Pudgy World) that they can make safer bets on without worrying about immediate profitability
• It generates exposure for the brand within "mainsteam" and grows top of funnel (not every toy buyer will buy a Pudgy NFT, but eventually 0.1% might, or 1%, etc.)
• The team isn't forced to dilute the brand and extract money from holders via additional NFT mints

If one was to create a list of 5 PFP projects to still be here in 2026, Pudgy's are at the top of that list. Toy revenue equates to staying power.

And many are betting, that staying power will eventually mean success for the NFTs.

👥 Friend Tech Trend Tracker

TVL and FriendTech Keys continue to grind up as we get closer to Friday's airdrop, and new joiners make a splash.

Let's start with the numbers.

Here are some of the core Friend Tech metrics for 9/27 and their day-over-day change:

• Return users: 8,268 -> 8,513 (+3%)
• Daily Buy volume: $4.56M -> $4.59M (+1%)
• Total Volume:  $8.3M -> $8M (-3%)
• TVL: $40.69M* -> $41.95M (+3%)
• Highest key: Vombatus 7.31 -> 7.31 (even)

*8.5% of TVL is from self-buyers (down from a peak of 15%) per Slice Analytics' new dashboard.

The top accounts continue to grind up as TVL rises, with the Top 250 Key Index hitting new ATHs.

New analysis from JackyGekko shows that while TVL (ETH locked in FT Keys) is at $42M, there is an additional ~$22M in ETH in wallets of those holding FT Keys.

He dubbed this "hot money," pointing out that there's more ETH in this ecosystem than TVL shows on the surface.

The question - if/when this "hot money" will move into keys.

On the leaderboard, Vombatus keeps his top spot, stretching the lead over Racer to 0.65 ETH. CBB continues to grind up, now in 4th at 4.83 ETH after another +9% day.

A few other trends and developments we saw:

• New feature: a crown shown next to a person's own chat room, now shown at the top of the list (pinned)
• New joiners on the day included DefiSquared who joined and soared to 1.28 ETH and pplpleasr (who promised to use her room as a dating platform for key holders) who ran to 0.55 ETH
• Other notable winners on the day included:
  • Faded +110% to 1.1 ETH after promising to give away a tesla
  • Nftommo +35% to 0.87 ETH after being touted for his great tool suite
  • Du Jun +39% to 1.72 ETH (ties to Huobi)
  • Bogfather +13% and crossing 2 ETH after giving away a Pudgy

If you like this content, catch our morning Friend Tech show at 10 am ET.

🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• Trading volume came in at $7.8M (4,800 ETH) on Tuesday, led by Pudgy Penguins seeing nearly 1k ETH and jumping 12% and Beef Brothko soaring 65% to 0.92 ETH
• BlockGames Dice debuted on Tuesday, reaching the top 5 in trading volume and settling at 0.1 ETH
• Sugartown Oras took a nosedive just one day before staking was set to begin, falling 21% to 0.21 ETH
• Yuga's Legends of the Mara went live on Tuesday; Otherdeeds pumped 15% to 0.48 ETH while Otherside Vessels jumped 10% to 0.17 
• DraftKings announced new Showdown Sets for PGA TOUR Reignmakers with over $100k in prizes
• VeeFriends announced a new collab with Mattel and its Masters of the Universe IP.

🌎 Around Crypto and Web3

A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• The crypto market was up slightly; BTC +2% at $26,730; ETH +2.5% at $1,630
• The U.S. House pushed the SEC to approve the spot Bitcoin ETFs "immediately," while the SEC extended the deadlines for Ark and Global X's ETF applications
• The Rainbow Wallet posted a new teaser video touting its extension, telling users to "throw the fox in the trash" (MetaMask) and hinting at an airdrop with the closing line "true believers will be rewarded)

🚀 NFT Total Volume

• Pudgy Penguins (982 ETH, 5.19 ETH Floor)
• BAYC (833 ETH, 24.18 ETH)
• MAYC (629 ETH, 4.83 ETH)
• BlockGames Dice (408 ETH, 0.1 ETH)
• DeGods (318 ETH, 3.2 ETH)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase

• Beef Brothko (65%, 0.92 ETH Floor)
• Orbs (36%, 0.66 ETH)
• Memewhales (33%, 7 ETH)
• 10ktf Kagami (31%, 1.69 ETH)
• KillaBears (18%, 0.67 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals

Today is a busy day of new drops, mostly focused in the art sector.

Floor is back with its weekly drop from Lewis Osborne, and Memes are featuring Efdot today.

Art Blocks Curated is back with a 350-supply Rock-themed set called "This Is Not A Rock." Given the recent hype in generative art and post-Marfa buzz, this may receive more attention.

For those who want to dive in, see the full list and more details from Swizzy's daily mint monitor. 

• Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET)
• Floor x Lewis Osborne (12:00 p.m. ET)
• Art Blocks Curated "This Is Not A Rock" (1:00 p.m. ET)
• Fewo World (TBD)

Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.

For all volume and floor price data, see Lucky Trader's Project Rankings page.

For all upcoming mints, see Lucky Trader's NFT Calendar page.