PENGU, the token behind Pudgy Penguins, jumped 62% over the past week and was trading near $0.0095 on Monday. The token added about 15% in the last 24 hours, lifting its market cap to roughly $598 million and a 97th-place ranking among cryptocurrencies. The rally comes a day after CEO Luca Netz posted a string of cryptic emojis — eyes, a penguin, a building, an arrow and the word “soon” — that traders read as a hint at an initial public offering.
The IPO trail
This isn't the first time Netz has teased a listing. In August 2025 he said he would be disappointed if the company didn't go public within two years, a deadline that lands in 2027. His latest post is the closest he's come to giving a date, but it's still short on specifics. No registration statement has been filed, and no bank or venue has been named. So “soon” could mean anything from a quick filing to a slow walk toward that 2027 target.
Toys, not just tokens
The brand has been building a real-world business. Pudgy Penguins guided toward roughly $50 million in annual sales, and most of that comes from toys rather than token activity. The plush and collectibles are now sold through Walmart and Target across North America. That retail presence gives the company a story that a lot of crypto projects don't have, which matters if an IPO actually happens. The firm also signed an NFT deal with Manchester City in January.
What's propping up the price
The run isn't just IPO chatter. LBank launched a promotional campaign with Pudgy Penguins this month, including trading competitions and 30-day lock products. Those lock products pull tokens out of circulation, tightening the float. That's a mechanical boost that can feed a rally on its own.
Still far from the record
Even after the jump, PENGU is nowhere near its high. It hit $0.06845 back in December 2024, and the current price is roughly a seventh of that. The token has climbed from a February low near $0.0053 and broke a downtrend in April around $0.0083. So this week's move is real, but it's a recovery, not a new peak.
The next checkpoint is Netz's own clock. He said two years in August 2025, which puts the deadline in 2027. “Soon” doesn't count as a filing, and until a bank or venue is named, the IPO remains a hint. Traders are left watching the lock products and the toy aisle.
