🐧 Pudgy Penguins’ Layer-2: A Fluffy Launch Flop? 🐧

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In the grand tapestry of blockchain debuts, Abstract, the latest layer-2 escapade by Pudgy Penguins, has sauntered onto the stage with all the grace of a walrus on roller skates. A veritable stampede of 711,000 transactions on opening day, one might think, yet the treasure chest of liquidity remains as barren as a penguin’s arctic tundra. A mere $33.37 million in Total Value Secured (TVS)—hardly the embarrassment of riches one expects from a network with such portly aspirations.

Source: L2Beat

NOXA, the decentralized bazaar within this icy realm, has fared no better. Its Total Value Locked (TVL) has plummeted from a modest $515,000 to a paltry $109,231, as if investors caught wind of a penguin’s aversion to water and decided to jump ship. Streamlined wallet creation via email? A delightful innovation, if only the wallets contained more than cobwebs and echoes.

Source: DeFiLlama

Abstract, in a stroke of what can only be described as quixotic genius, introduced an incentive mechanism for “xp points.” Yet, this scheme has inspired about as much excitement as a penguin’s attempt at flight. One embittered community member bemoaned the fact that most are more interested in trading NFTs than hoarding xp points. Quelle surprise!

There’s no liquidity on Abstract – but will it ever come? First thing I saw in my TL today was FUD and drama around Abstract✳️Many are calling it a failure because their WLs (earned through threads) didn’t meet expectations due to a lack of liquidityBut why is there no… — Sanix𝕏x.eth (🪹,🦉) (@0xSanixxx) January 29, 2025

No DeFi? No Problem, Says CEO

Luca Netz, the maestro behind this frosty fiasco, has eschewed the typical Ethereum layer-2 focus on deep DeFi integration for a vision more aligned with, say, a penguin’s tea party. Users can indeed bridge funds, swap tokens, and launch new tokens on zoo.fun, but the emphasis is on fun over finance. “Optimizing for fun, viral, simple, stupid,” Netz proclaims, which may explain why Abstract’s liquidity is as elusive as a Yeti.

The Pudgy Penguins’ native token PENGU has taken a nose-dive, sliding 6% in a day and a whopping 37% in a week. It seems the market’s enthusiasm for all things penguin has waned faster than a melting ice cap.

Parsec Finance summed it up rather succinctly: the market had expected a juicy token generation event, not a drawn-out XP/Points program that’s about as thrilling as watching ice melt.

And so, the NFT space continues its choppy sea voyage, with OpenSea’s trading volume a mere shadow of its former glory. Will the NFT sector reclaim its lost luster? Only time—and perhaps a few more penguin escapades—will tell.

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2025-01-30 17:23