The meme token PENGUIN surged by 1500% after the White House post with the penguin - ForkLog: cryptocurrencies, AI, singularity, future

# Meme token PENGUIN surged by 1500% after White House post with penguin

January 24, the Nietzschean Penguin (PENGUIN) meme token on Solana jumped from $0.01 to $0.16, gaining about 1500%

Hourly chart of PENGUIN/USD on PumpSwap exchange. Source: DEXScreener The sharp rise occurred after the White House posted on social media X. The short post included a photo of U.S. President Donald Trump holding hands with a penguin

Embrace the penguin. pic.twitter.com/kKlzwd3Rx7

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 23, 2026

For unknown reasons, the community linked this message to a meme coin. The coin itself was launched on January 16. They are probably connected by similar AI-generated images.

Before the White House post, the asset’s market cap was around $300 000, and at its peak, the figure reached $170 million. Currently, the value has adjusted to $112 million with a coin price of $0.11.

Analyst Lookonchain pointed out a user who spent 6 SOL (~$867) on buying 16.5 million PENGUIN, then sold all tokens for 6.12 SOL (~$886). At the time of the researchers’ publication, these coins were valued at $1.4 million.

This is truly a sad story.

Cooker.hl(@CookerFlips) spent 6 $SOL($867) to buy 16.5M $PENGUIN, then sold it all for 6.12 $SOL($886) — making a profit of 0.12 $SOL($18).

The 16.5M $PENGUIN is now worth $1.4M.

He missed out on a $1.4M profit.https://t.co/HokhaetgB5 pic.twitter.com/EwSRlkbEj0

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 24, 2026

According to Arkham, one trader managed to earn $1.5 million in 72 hours. He spent $53 900 on purchasing the asset.

PENGUIN TOP TRADER MADE $1.5M IN 72H

Trader 7fFCz is up $1.5 Million on $PENGUIN, acquired for a total cost of $53.9K. Arkham ULTRA predicts this trader to be associated with @Banana__BuLLeT.

Despite being up over $1.5M, Trader 7fFCz (Banana Bullet) bought PENGUIN 2 days ago… pic.twitter.com/sFmtmEad7T

— Arkham (@arkham) January 24, 2026

“Early success of PENGUIN proves that on-chain trading never died, it was just a sleeping giant waiting for the right moment. Psychological barriers are only beginning to be overcome. Many opportunities lie ahead,” — co-founder of Pump.fun under the nickname alon.

Feast during the plague

The growth of PENGUIN occurred amid stagnation in the entire “fun coin” segment. According to CoinGecko, the market capitalization of the sector decreased by nearly 10% over the past week — to $43.9 billion.

The largest meme tokens are currently experiencing tough times, with most ending the week in the “red zone”: DOGE (-10%), SHIB (-7.5%), and PEPE (-14.5%).

Source: CoinGecko. The segment is also suffering from an influx of scammers. One of the recent high-profile examples is the NYC Token project, promoted by former New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

According to CoinGecko analysts, over 11.6 million tokens failed in 2025. Experts linked the record level of “deaths” to volatility and the collapse of memes.

Recall that in December, MoonPay CEO Kit Grossman predicted the rebirth of meme tokens. According to him, the sector will return in a “transformed form.”