Pudgy Penguins has officially refuted circulating rumors about acquiring leading NFT marketplace OpenSea, redirecting attention to its growing portfolio of high-profile brand collaborations.

Executive Dismisses Acquisition Talks

Beau, the project's security lead, took to social media platform X on July 27 to quash speculation about the alleged deal. "Pudgy Penguins didn't buy OpenSea... chill," he stated, emphasizing the team's focus on existing partnerships rather than marketplace acquisitions. The executive pointed to recent collaborations with aviation giant Lufthansa and motorsport organizer NASCAR as examples of the project's strategic direction.

——"We're building something bigger than marketplace acquisitions," Beau noted in follow-up comments, highlighting the company's OverpassIP platform that enables NFT holders to earn royalties from physical merchandise sales——

Origins of the Acquisition Rumor

Speculation gained traction after community members revisited CEO Luca Netz's October 2024 statement expressing interest in purchasing OpenSea. The timing coincided with Pudgy Penguins' December 2024 product launches and OpenSea's subsequent policy changes, fueling unconfirmed theories about a silent acquisition.

【Market Impact】: The NFT collection's floor price remained stable at 18.5 ETH ($58,000) throughout the rumor cycle, showing no significant fluctuation from acquisition speculation.

Strategic Focus on Brand Growth

The penguin-themed NFT project has aggressively expanded beyond digital collectibles, launching physical toys through PMI Toys and introducing Pengu Clash - a skill-based Web3 game on TON blockchain. These moves align with the team's stated priority of building intellectual property value rather than marketplace ownership.

Industry analysts observe this strategy mirrors broader NFT sector trends, where top projects increasingly focus on real-world utility and cross-industry partnerships to sustain long-term value.

NFT Market Shows Renewed Strength

The clarification comes amid a broader NFT market resurgence, with DappRadar reporting a 【94% monthly increase】 in total market capitalization to $6.6 billion. Ethereum-based CryptoPunks led the charge with a 53% floor price surge, demonstrating renewed investor confidence in blue-chip NFT collections.

——"We're seeing institutional collectors return to the space," noted a DappRadar market analyst, citing seven-figure CryptoPunk purchases as evidence of shifting sentiment——

As of press time, OpenSea maintains its position as the second-largest NFT marketplace by volume, while Pudgy Penguins continues executing its partnership-driven growth strategy across multiple industries.