The sudden rise of $PNUT, a memecoin inspired by Peanut the Squirrel, has captured attention on the Solana DeFi markets. Created in response to the viral news surrounding the squirrel, $PNUT climbed over 400% shortly after launch, hitting a $120 million market cap before a minor correction. Another related token, $FRED, launched on Solana in memory of a raccoon involved in the same incident, reached a market cap of $8.2 million with 150,000 transactions.
“Well internet, you WON. You took one of the most amazing animals away from me because of your selfishness. To the group of people who called DEC, there’s a special place in hell for you.”
According to Longo, he saved the squirrel for the first time almost seven years ago after witnessing Peanut’s mother being struck by a car. Longo determined that Peanut was unable to survive in the wild due to an injury. As a result, Peanut became his caregiver and helped him recover.
Peanut-themed memecoins hit the markets
Peanut’s sudden popularity spurred memecoin creators to launch meme-based tokens based on the popular squirrel.
A number of Peanut-based memecoins have been introduced on the Solana network, according to DeFi data tracker Dexscreener. Furthermore, according to Dexscreener’s 24-hour charts, two memecoins with a Peanut theme have reached the top 10.
Two days ago, a token known as Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) registered over 200,000 transactions and had a volume of about $300 million. Prior to a drop, the token’s market capitalization peaked at $120 million, and it is currently valued at $100 million.
A comparable memecoin also made its way onto the BNB Smart Chain, reaching a market value of $80 million with a volume of $110 million.
The Solana memecoin markets also saw the release of a Fred-themed memecoin, which was based on the raccoon that was put down with Peanut. A trade volume of $83 million and nearly 150,000 transactions were registered by a token known as First Convicted Raccoon (FRED). The project’s market valuation is merely $8.2 million in spite of this.
