MEME coin Pnut briefly surpassed $100 million market cap; the death of Peanut, a celebrity squirrel endorsed by Musk, sparked a political movement in the US
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MEME coin Pnut briefly surpassed $100 million market cap; the death of Peanut, a celebrity squirrel endorsed by Musk, sparked a political movement in the US
Pnut market cap briefly exceeded $100 million, but deployer earned only $73,000.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Nancy, PANews
Last weekend, the meme coin Pnut became a hot speculative asset among Degens, with its market cap soaring past $100 million within just one day. This surge was triggered by the controversial euthanization of Peanut, a celebrity squirrel in the U.S., after being "arrested." Public sorrow over Peanut's tragic fate has spread widely online. With amplification from public figures like Elon Musk, the incident has evolved into a political movement, sparking intense outrage and widespread condemnation across the internet.
Pnut Market Cap Briefly Exceeds $100M, Deployer Earns Only $73K
In recent days, Solana’s meme market has seen another golden dog project emerge—Pnut, a squirrel-themed meme coin rapidly spreading as part of meme satire culture. According to Dex Screener data, starting November 2, the price of the meme coin Pnut began surging, peaking at over 6,600 times its initial listing price. On November 3, its market cap briefly surpassed $110 million. At the time of writing, Pnut’s market cap has pulled back to around $55 million.
Beneath the viral narrative, some early investors reaped significant profits while others sold too early and missed out. According to @ai_9684xtpa, a smart money wallet GmM5U...Hu9vB bought $Pnut at a cost of $44,851 and earned $1.64 million—a return rate of 3,668%—and has already offloaded nearly 90% of its holdings. Meanwhile, Onchain Lens reported that a user spent 8 SOL ($1,392) to buy 19.4 million Pnut tokens, then sold them for 4.09 SOL ($711), incurring a loss of $681; those tokens were once worth over $1.85 million. Lookonchain also detected another address that sold 19.1 million Pnut at a loss—the sale yielded only 4.57 SOL ($783), despite having purchased them for 11 SOL ($1,882), resulting in a $1,099 loss. Those tokens are now worth over $1.6 million.
Notably, according to Lookonchain data, Pnut’s deployer withdrew 2 SOL from Coinbase to launch the token and quickly sold all of their Pnut holdings. Two other wallets linked to the deployer have also fully exited their positions, resulting in a total profit of approximately $73,000.
Following Pnut’s rise, attention in the meme market has shifted toward other animal-themed meme coins involving raccoons, elephants, and similar concepts. However, so far only Pnut has sustained notable market热度.
Celebrity Squirrel's Euthanization Sparks Controversy, Becomes Political Weapon
The surge in attention surrounding the Pnut meme coin is closely tied to the controversy over the capture and euthanization of the celebrity squirrel Peanut.
Over seven years ago, mechanical engineer Mark Longo came across a baby squirrel whose mother had died in a traffic accident. Out of compassion, he took the orphaned squirrel home and named it “Peanut.” As he shared countless videos of their interactions on social media, Mark Longo quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of followers, turning Peanut into an internet-famous animal star.
According to Mark Longo, his passion for animals deepened over time, prompting him last year to fully dedicate himself to wildlife conservation by founding a nonprofit animal sanctuary called “P'Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary,” which now houses over 300 animals including horses, goats, and alpacas.
However, an unexpected storm disrupted the peaceful life of Mark Longo and Peanut. According to the Associated Press, on October 30, officials from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) entered Mark Longo’s home without a search warrant and seized Peanut. “It felt like I was a drug dealer,” Mark Longo said. “The officers acted like they were searching for drugs or guns.” He explained that the DEC had responded to multiple public complaints claiming Peanut was a wild animal and posed a potential rabies risk.
In response, Mark Longo launched a petition on social media, which quickly gained tens of thousands of signatures and widespread support. Yet, the situation did not resolve favorably. Mark Longo later announced with deep sorrow that Peanut had been euthanized by authorities for being classified as an “illegally kept wild animal.” The DEC stated that Peanut bit one of the investigating officers, leading to the decision to euthanize both Peanut and another raccoon named Fred for rabies testing.
This news instantly triggered massive backlash online, with countless netizens expressing anger and indignation, placing the DEC at the center of a public relations firestorm.
“The way New York treated squirrel Peanut is as cruel as how Harambe [the gorilla shot at a U.S. zoo to save a child] was treated,” tweeted Dogecoin. Elon Musk joined the mourning campaign, posting multiple tweets in support of Peanut and Mark Longo: “Government should not be allowed to break into your house and kill your pet! That’s awful. Even if keeping squirrels as pets is illegal (which it shouldn’t be), why kill Peanut instead of releasing it back into the forest?” and “The government is a ruthless killing machine. Trump will save the squirrels. Rest in peace, Peanut.” The conservative satire site Babylon Bee chimed in: “MAGA-hat-wearing radical squirrels begin uprising.”
With the U.S. presidential election reaching its climax, the Peanut controversy has escalated into a broader political attack against the Democratic Party, even becoming a weapon in partisan discourse.
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