[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]  MR SHIFT 🦁 [@KevinWSHPod](/creator/twitter/KevinWSHPod) on x 54.1K followers Created: 2025-07-23 11:00:26 UTC How Luca Netz and Pudgy Penguins Survived Crypto’s Worst Crashes and Came Back Stronger In this episode of When Shift Happens, I sit down with Luca Netz to discuss the highs and lows of building @pudgypenguins, how he navigated one of the most ambitious token launches in crypto history, and why he believes NFTs and his brand still have their best days ahead. The conversation dives into what it takes to survive in crypto, how to build trust during drawdowns, and why @LucaNetz believes culture and community are the real deal in crypto. Surviving the Crash Luca talks openly about the emotional pressure of watching Pengu drop XX% and being on the receiving end of criticism, even from people he considered allies. “It wasn’t just price action,” he says. “It was the DMs from people I respected, asking, ‘What are you even doing?’ when everything around us was crumbling.” He admits to losing confidence briefly but says he never lost conviction. "Some of the best entrepreneurs in the world have been down 90%," he said. “Sometimes the tide just needs to wash itself out,” he explains, pointing to examples like Robinhood and Amazon, which suffered similar crashes before rebounding. ,“If you're an entrepreneur, you have to have confidence... Price can't sway you off of that.” For Luca, enduring the dip was part of the job. “We just started figuring things out,” he says. As the market recovered, Pengu became one of the top five best-performing altcoins from the bottom. Launching a Meme Coin That Sticks So why launch a meme coin at all, especially one tied to a popular NFT brand? Luca says it came from watching “shitty IPs and shitty memes hitting a billion dollars” while Pudgy, a brand with real attention, sat on the sidelines. “Our job is to bring as many people via that licensing vehicle into crypto and into our ecosystem,” he explains. The launch of Pengu was fast, roughly five weeks from idea to execution, and massive in scale. “It was a herculean sprint,” Luca says. “Even if it was done in five weeks, it looked like it took a year.” But it wasn’t just about speed. The mission was to distribute the token widely and transparently, avoiding the early-buyer concentration that often defines meme coin launches. “No one wants to buy a coin that’s just penguins dumping on,” he says. What He’d Do Differently The launch was widely successful, and over six million wallets were eligible, but the claim process had its flaws. “We should have let holders claim in the first hour without anyone else,” he says. That alone, he believes, would have solved most of the early complaints. He also regrets how some speculators bought Pudgy Penguins right before the airdrop and cashed out quickly. “I hated that,” he says. “I felt used and abused.” For future launches like @AbstractChain, Luca says he’s building in more protections: tracking loyal buyers over time, rewarding top contributors, and avoiding the last-minute rush. “I’m recording all this data… I respect the person buying now, not the person buying two days before TGE.” Building Abstract: Crypto’s Consumer Portal Abstract is more than another Layer X. It’s built on a bet to simplify crypto for everyday users. “I think Abstract today is the best consumer portal and consumer experience in crypto,” Luca says. He compares it to World App (from Worldcoin) and Coinbase’s Base, but says Abstract will go further with its Portal interface and upcoming iOS app. Still, he’s cautious about rushing a token launch. “I won't TGE it if it's not evident that I'm getting comped somewhere in between the middle of Base and World Chain,” he says. “We're not here to engineer hype. We're here to win.” The product is already being used with “through the roof” retention — as Luca calls it— but he’s now focused on integrating fun, social, and viral loops into the Portal experience. “We’re trying to bring fun back to the EVM,” he says. Are NFTs Coming Back? Luca still believes in NFTs as digital collectibles, but says the space needs better infrastructure. “Collectibles in the real world just work, dude. And NFTs are just a better version of collectibles in every which way.” Right now, the only missing ingredient is stablecoin adoption. He argues that until people can hold and spend stablecoins as easily as using Apple Pay, consumer crypto won’t take off. But once that happens, NFTs will surge back. “The NFT is going to win because it's a small group of some of the coolest, most affluent, richest people in crypto. Everyone wants to sit at the cool kids' table at the cafeteria. The Pudgy Penguins PFP is the cool kids and it outperforms staked ETH XX out of XX times for the next XX years.” One Ecosystem, Many Fronts Luca makes it clear that the relationship between Pudgy Penguins, Pengu, and Abstract isn’t complicated, and people shouldn’t read too much meaning into it. They are parallel tracks driving toward the same mission: onboarding the world into crypto. “Every part of the igloo (@IglooInc) feeds into that vision,” he says. Abstract and its ecosystem (@Abstract_Eco) will host games and products tied to Pudgy Penguins. Pengu draws in retail users and spreads the brand through virality. And the NFT remains the premium collectible, a kind of membership card to the cool kids' table. “I want to be the face of penguins around the world,” Luca says. “I’ll be on Solana. I’ll be on Ethereum. I’ll be on Bitcoin if I want to. We build better products and better brands than anyone else in the space.” For Luca Netz, winning in crypto isn’t just about technology. It’s about distribution, culture, and trust. And whether it’s a chain, a coin, or a collectible, his goal remains the same: build products people love, and reward those who believe. “Everybody who gets into our ecosystem leaves it making money — unless they just, you know, quit early on.” 👉If you enjoyed reading the summary, head over to When Shift Happens on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform to access the full convo.  XXXXX engagements  **Related Topics** [pudgy penguins](/topic/pudgy-penguins) [nfts](/topic/nfts) [token](/topic/token) [cryptos](/topic/cryptos) [penguins](/topic/penguins) [pudgypenguins](/topic/pudgypenguins) [Post Link](https://x.com/KevinWSHPod/status/1947975084859105410)
[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]
MR SHIFT 🦁 @KevinWSHPod on x 54.1K followers
Created: 2025-07-23 11:00:26 UTC
How Luca Netz and Pudgy Penguins Survived Crypto’s Worst Crashes and Came Back Stronger
In this episode of When Shift Happens, I sit down with Luca Netz to discuss the highs and lows of building @pudgypenguins, how he navigated one of the most ambitious token launches in crypto history, and why he believes NFTs and his brand still have their best days ahead.
The conversation dives into what it takes to survive in crypto, how to build trust during drawdowns, and why @LucaNetz believes culture and community are the real deal in crypto.
Surviving the Crash
Luca talks openly about the emotional pressure of watching Pengu drop XX% and being on the receiving end of criticism, even from people he considered allies. “It wasn’t just price action,” he says. “It was the DMs from people I respected, asking, ‘What are you even doing?’ when everything around us was crumbling.”
He admits to losing confidence briefly but says he never lost conviction. "Some of the best entrepreneurs in the world have been down 90%," he said. “Sometimes the tide just needs to wash itself out,” he explains, pointing to examples like Robinhood and Amazon, which suffered similar crashes before rebounding. ,“If you're an entrepreneur, you have to have confidence... Price can't sway you off of that.”
For Luca, enduring the dip was part of the job. “We just started figuring things out,” he says. As the market recovered, Pengu became one of the top five best-performing altcoins from the bottom.
Launching a Meme Coin That Sticks
So why launch a meme coin at all, especially one tied to a popular NFT brand? Luca says it came from watching “shitty IPs and shitty memes hitting a billion dollars” while Pudgy, a brand with real attention, sat on the sidelines. “Our job is to bring as many people via that licensing vehicle into crypto and into our ecosystem,” he explains.
The launch of Pengu was fast, roughly five weeks from idea to execution, and massive in scale. “It was a herculean sprint,” Luca says. “Even if it was done in five weeks, it looked like it took a year.”
But it wasn’t just about speed. The mission was to distribute the token widely and transparently, avoiding the early-buyer concentration that often defines meme coin launches. “No one wants to buy a coin that’s just penguins dumping on,” he says.
What He’d Do Differently
The launch was widely successful, and over six million wallets were eligible, but the claim process had its flaws. “We should have let holders claim in the first hour without anyone else,” he says. That alone, he believes, would have solved most of the early complaints.
He also regrets how some speculators bought Pudgy Penguins right before the airdrop and cashed out quickly. “I hated that,” he says. “I felt used and abused.”
For future launches like @AbstractChain, Luca says he’s building in more protections: tracking loyal buyers over time, rewarding top contributors, and avoiding the last-minute rush. “I’m recording all this data… I respect the person buying now, not the person buying two days before TGE.”
Building Abstract: Crypto’s Consumer Portal
Abstract is more than another Layer X. It’s built on a bet to simplify crypto for everyday users.
“I think Abstract today is the best consumer portal and consumer experience in crypto,” Luca says. He compares it to World App (from Worldcoin) and Coinbase’s Base, but says Abstract will go further with its Portal interface and upcoming iOS app.
Still, he’s cautious about rushing a token launch. “I won't TGE it if it's not evident that I'm getting comped somewhere in between the middle of Base and World Chain,” he says. “We're not here to engineer hype. We're here to win.”
The product is already being used with “through the roof” retention — as Luca calls it— but he’s now focused on integrating fun, social, and viral loops into the Portal experience. “We’re trying to bring fun back to the EVM,” he says.
Are NFTs Coming Back?
Luca still believes in NFTs as digital collectibles, but says the space needs better infrastructure. “Collectibles in the real world just work, dude. And NFTs are just a better version of collectibles in every which way.”
Right now, the only missing ingredient is stablecoin adoption. He argues that until people can hold and spend stablecoins as easily as using Apple Pay, consumer crypto won’t take off. But once that happens, NFTs will surge back.
“The NFT is going to win because it's a small group of some of the coolest, most affluent, richest people in crypto. Everyone wants to sit at the cool kids' table at the cafeteria. The Pudgy Penguins PFP is the cool kids and it outperforms staked ETH XX out of XX times for the next XX years.”
One Ecosystem, Many Fronts
Luca makes it clear that the relationship between Pudgy Penguins, Pengu, and Abstract isn’t complicated, and people shouldn’t read too much meaning into it.
They are parallel tracks driving toward the same mission: onboarding the world into crypto. “Every part of the igloo (@IglooInc) feeds into that vision,” he says.
Abstract and its ecosystem (@Abstract_Eco) will host games and products tied to Pudgy Penguins. Pengu draws in retail users and spreads the brand through virality. And the NFT remains the premium collectible, a kind of membership card to the cool kids' table.
“I want to be the face of penguins around the world,” Luca says. “I’ll be on Solana. I’ll be on Ethereum. I’ll be on Bitcoin if I want to. We build better products and better brands than anyone else in the space.”
For Luca Netz, winning in crypto isn’t just about technology. It’s about distribution, culture, and trust. And whether it’s a chain, a coin, or a collectible, his goal remains the same: build products people love, and reward those who believe. “Everybody who gets into our ecosystem leaves it making money — unless they just, you know, quit early on.”
👉If you enjoyed reading the summary, head over to When Shift Happens on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform to access the full convo.
XXXXX engagements
Related Topics pudgy penguins nfts token cryptos penguins pudgypenguins