In more than one way, Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) has turned into something of a perfect meme coin, combining the silliness of internet jokes with actual cultural relevance.
Specifically, it was named and inspired by a squirrel of the same name that animal control agents killed in a raid due to wild animal complaints. Given the social media popularity of the squirrel and its owner and the seemingly unjustifiably violent nature of the intervention, it became something of a poster child against regulatory and law enforcement overreach.
Peanut’s role was further bolstered due to the political climate ahead of the 2024 presidential election, with some Trump voters practically adopting it as a symbol.
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One cryptocurrency trader seemingly entered a PNUT position at exactly the right moment – though the unusual size of the meme coin bet certainly raises some questions.
The ballad of Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT)
Specifically, the investor spent 2,717 Solana (SOL) – worth approximately $450,000 – on November 5 to purchase 16 million PNUT. At the time of the original trade, Peanut the Squirrel was changing hands at approximately $0.045.
On December 6, the trader finally moved his meme coin to the cryptocurrency exchange Binance in order to cash in on the non-trivial return, estimated at 1,772% by the blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain.
Indeed, as PNUT is trading at about $1.34 at press time, the fortunate investor turned $450,000 into almost $8 million with a combination – at the very least – of great timing and luck.
Of bulls, squirrels, and bears
Though the Peanut the Squirrel trade is certainly remarkable, it is merely one of the many such meme coin maneuvers executed during the 2024 bull market.
For example, early in December, another trader made an even more remarkable investment as they, also in about a month, turned $169 worth of Solana into $435,000 by investing in a Leonardo da Vinci-inspired token called Salvator Mundi (MUNDI).
A November 25 FRIC (FRIC) trade was even more incredible as it saw one cryptocurrency market investor turn $6,300 into $1.5 million – a 23,378% return – within just one hour.
Still, for all the meme coin trader successes, it is always worth remembering that stellar successes become known far more frequently than ruinous failures with the extraordinary risks being highlighted by a recent BInance study showcasing that 97% of all such coins and tokens ever created ‘have died.’
Featured image via Shutterstock
