The market cap of the squirrel-based Pnut token briefly surged to as high as $125 million after a social media post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to data provided by DEXscreener.
The meme coin was inspired by a viral news story about New York officials confiscating and euthanizing Peanut the Squirrel, a pet squirrel with a significant social media following.
Mark and Daniela Longo, the owners of the squirrel, went viral with their tearful TikTok video, in which they lamented the authorities for taking away their beloved pet.
The story has attracted significant social media attention, causing a significant public backlash (especially among right-wing individuals).
Alex DovbnyaMusk also weighed in on the issue by quoting Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi, a famous character from the Star Wars franchise. The centibillionaire jokingly attributed the quote to "Obi PNut Kenobi." The quote was accompanied by an AI-generated picture of a cute squirrel dressed like a Jedi.
New Yorkers are required to obtain a specific permit if they want to own a wild animal.
The squirrel was confiscated due to public health concerns since they can potentially transmit rabies (even though such cases tend to be very rare).
Some opportunistic meme coin aficionados have decided to capitalize on the most recent viral story with the Pnut meme coin.
According to data provided by cryptocurrency analytics firm Lookonchain, a whale recently spent as much as $831,000 in order to purchase 8.99 million Pnut tokens.
At press time, the token is valued at $90.5 million after giving up some Musk-driven gains.
Valeria Blokhina
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team