NFT Market Decline: Sales Drop While Pudgy Penguins Lead with Lucrative Airdrops

Recent data from cryptoslam.io highlights a noticeable decline in the digital collectibles sector. Over the past week, NFT sales totaled $119.49 million, accompanied by a significant 95.33% drop in buyers and a 94.06% decrease in sellers.

Despite this, NFT transactions remained stable, with 1.44 million transfers recorded—only a 1.35% decline from the last week of January.

Ethereum-Based NFTs Face the Steepest Decline

Ethereum-based NFTs saw the most severe downturn, plummeting 38.41% to $62.71 million. The highest-priced Ethereum asset traded during this period was f(x) wstETH position #373, which sold for $803,297 on February 7.

Meanwhile, Polkadot’s Mythos defied the trend, securing the second-highest blockchain sales at $13.97 million, while Solana followed in third place with $11.09 million in sales—a 32.56% drop from the previous week.

Five days prior, a notable Solana-minted Portals #14 NFT fetched $172,956 in a transaction.

Polygon ranked fourth with $8.13 million in sales, reflecting a 10.98% increase, while Bitcoin claimed the fifth position at $6.78 million, experiencing a 71.31% drop from the last week of January.

Leading NFT Collections and Weekly Performance

Pudgy Penguins, despite generating $9.20 million in sales, experienced a 37.55% decline.

Mythos’ Dmarket saw an 8% rise, reaching $8.80 million in sales, while Polygon’s Courtyard collection climbed 25.78% to $7.35 million.

Ethereum’s Cryptopunks slipped 30.01% to $5.26 million, while Azuki NFTs suffered the most significant decline at 79.17%, generating $5.08 million in sales.

Pudgy Penguins NFT holders have received approximately $137,000 in airdrops, reflecting their potential for financial growth.

Over the past year, the collection has distributed multiple airdrops tied to partnerships with zkSync, Omni Network, and Dymension, providing substantial returns to its holders.

Largest Airdrops Received by Pudgy Penguins

Pengu Airdrop

In December 2024, Pudgy Penguins introduced their native token, PENGU, marking a significant milestone. Initially valued at $0.05 per token, PENGU reached an all-time high of $0.07.

With 1.7 million PENGU tokens allocated per NFT, this airdrop represented 86.3% of the total airdrop value, equating to $116,365 per Pudgy Penguin NFT at peak valuation.

This distribution extended beyond Pudgy Penguin holders to other NFT communities, including Doodles, Cool Cats, Deadfellaz, and Moonbirds.

Additionally, early participants in the ETH and SOL ecosystems were rewarded, further expanding the reach of the Pudgy ecosystem.

Dymension Airdrop

In early 2024, Pudgy Penguins holders received DYM tokens through a Dymension airdrop, designed to integrate NFT communities into the Cosmos ecosystem.

At distribution, DYM tokens were valued at $4.89 each. With each NFT eligible for 1,313 DYM tokens, holders benefited from a maximum value of $11,160 per NFT at DYM’s all-time high of $8.50.

Omni Network Airdrop

Omni Network rewarded Pudgy Penguins holders with OMNI tokens to enhance cross-chain adoption.

Although the token price later dropped, the airdrop served as an introduction to Omni’s interoperability-focused blockchain. At the time of distribution, OMNI tokens were valued at $27.06 each.

With 37 OMNI tokens allocated per Pudgy Penguin NFT, holders could have realized a peak value of $1,984 per NFT at OMNI’s all-time high of $53.81.

zkSync Airdrop

As a leading Ethereum Layer 2 solution, zkSync airdropped ZK tokens to Pudgy Penguins holders in June 2024. zkSync’s scalability-focused rollup technology makes it a vital component of Ethereum’s future.

ZK tokens reached an all-time high of $0.32 per token, and each Pudgy Penguin NFT received 8,721 ZK tokens, totaling $2,799 per NFT at peak valuation.

LayerZero Airdrop

In July 2024, LayerZero airdropped ZRO tokens to Pudgy Penguins holders, aligning with its mission of omnichain interoperability.

By December 2024, ZRO tokens climbed to $5.09, doubling the return for holders. With each Pudgy Penguin NFT receiving 100 ZRO tokens, the peak valuation reached $747 per NFT at ZRO’s all-time high of $7.47.