Just as the cryptocurrency market was experiencing a drop this week, Tracy Wang of CoinDesk reports that the incredibly successful NFT collection for Pudgy Penguins is facing an internal revolt. Why? Apparently, the NFT owners think the co-founders who go by the pseudonyms Cole Thereum and @Tubbyfat have failed to deliver on their promises of developing a game, token, book, and more.
As CoinDesk puts it, things have turned icy.
A club of Pudgy Penguin owners even held a vote on Discord in favor of ousting the co-founders.
One major holder of Pudgy Penguins, 9x9x9, who owns 243 NFTs from the collection, valued at 600 ETH, said the co-founders offered to sell the business to him. 9x9x9 turned down the offer allegedly because the company had no ETH and a lot of debt.
So this company with 0 ETH inside, carry a debt of two fundraising and boat lots of promise to the community/investors. They reduced the price from 4000ETH for 20% to 888ETH for 100%. They want to walk away with ETH they raised and sell the sinking ship for another 888ETH
CoinDesk reports that others have offered to buy out the co-founders: “Now, the project has received buyout offers as high as 750 ETH ($2.3 million) from other prominent individuals in the NFT market, including Mintable co-founder Zach Burks, NFT collector @beaniemax and Netz Capital’sLuca Netz.”
Another proposal is shifting to a community-run business: “Others in the community are more wary of a buyout. NFT hedge fund Starry Night Capital’s@Vince_Van_Dough and eGirl Capital’s@loomdart – other prominent stakeholders in the project – have floated the idea of migrating the community to a new project called Wrapped Penguins.”
At the moment, it’s unclear the future of the Pudgy Penguins, although the floor price appears to be going strong at nearly 2 ETH, with sales volumes increasing in the past few days (though that could mean people exiting).
For now, the Pudgy Penguins management appear to be on thin ice.