Pudgy Penguins Plunge 20% as BlockDAG Soars—Can Stellar Keep Up?
The PENGU token, native to the Pudgy Penguins NFT project, has experienced a notable decline in value, dropping more than 20% over the past 30 days, according to data from CoinMarketCap [1]. Despite this, the project’s recent launch of “Pudgy Party,” a mobile battle royale game, has achieved significant traction, ranking among Apple’s top downloaded titles [1]. The game has drawn over 50,000 downloads on Google Play and secured a spot in the top 10 on the Apple App Store, indicating strong appeal to both crypto and non-crypto users [1]. Pudgy Penguins has expanded its influence beyond the blockchain space by incorporating physical merchandise, trading cards, and video games, creating a broader cultural footprint [1].
The broader NFT market has also faced challenges, with major blue-chip collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Doodles experiencing double-digit losses in August [1]. The NFT market cap has declined from $9.3 billion at the start of August to $7.4 billion, closely tracking the performance of Ethereum (ETH), the dominant blockchain for NFT trading [1]. The decline in ETH prices, which retreated from a record high of $4,957, has had a cascading effect on NFT sales and trading activity. While Pudgy Penguins has seen significant losses, the CryptoPunks collection has shown relative resilience, posting a nearly 3% gain during the same period [1].
Meanwhile, in the blockchain innovation space, BlockDAG has emerged as a standout project, raising over $389 million in its presale and selling 25.5 billion coins by Batch 30 [4]. At a current price of $0.03, the project has a guaranteed listing price of $0.05, offering a 66% return for early participants [4]. The X1 mobile miner app has attracted over 3 million users, creating a robust user base before the mainnet launch [4]. Analysts have projected potential price targets of $1 in the short term and $5–$10 in the long term, citing strong user engagement, strategic partnerships, and the development of infrastructure such as the X10, X30, and X100 miners [4]. The project’s hybrid DAG + Proof-of-Work architecture, coupled with full EVM compatibility, has attracted over 4,500 developers and 300 decentralized applications in development [6].
Stellar (XLM), on the other hand, has seen limited price movement, with Stellar Lumens (XLM) gaining 3% ahead of its upcoming Protocol 23 upgrade [9]. The upgrade, named “Whisk,” aims to modernize the network’s infrastructure, enhance scalability, and improve transaction processing efficiency [7]. The protocol introduces key features such as unified events, which standardize data formatting across classic and smart contract operations, and parallel transaction processing, which reduces latency and increases throughput [7]. South Korean exchanges Bithumb and Upbit have announced the suspension of XLM deposits and withdrawals in preparation for the upgrade, signaling institutional support for the network’s evolution [9].
Despite these developments, XLM has remained relatively stagnant compared to the explosive growth seen in projects like BlockDAG. Analysts have noted that while Stellar continues to serve as a foundational infrastructure for cross-asset transactions and real-world asset tokenization, it has yet to break through in terms of broader market adoption [8]. The project’s recent price consolidation above $0.36 suggests continued institutional interest, but the lack of significant volume surges or bullish momentum contrasts with the rapid adoption seen in other blockchain networks [9]. As the Stellar network moves forward with its upgrades, it remains to be seen whether it can regain relevance in a market increasingly dominated by presale-driven projects and Layer-1 innovations.
Source: [1] PENGU token loses 20% in August amid Pudgy Party launch (https://cointelegraph.com/news/pengu-loses-20-august-pudgy-party-launch) [2] Pudgy Penguin launched a new “Crypto” Mobile Game that… (https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/1n3s06p/pudgy_penguin_launched_a_new_crypto_mobile_game/)
Source link
Written by : Editorial team of BIPNs
Main team of content of bipns.com. Any type of content should be approved by us.
Share this article: