The crypto world has gone nuts over Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), a Solana-based meme coin that’s stealing the spotlight. Following Coinbase’s announcement of plans to list $PNUT for trading, the token skyrocketed 19% in just an hour, hitting $1.27 with a market cap of $1.27 billion. Inspired by the internet-famous squirrel Peanut, the coin has gained extra attention after the squirrel’s controversial euthanization by New York authorities.
After an X post from Elon Musk, the Peanut meme coin (PNUT) skyrocketed, with its market cap leaping from $3 million to $140 million in just 24 hours. While its price saw steady growth since mid-November, it recently dipped 9.7%, now trading at $1.11. This drop appears to be part of a broader market downturn rather than specific to PNUT.
While Bitcoin is circling the $100K mark with recent ups and downs investors are taking a chance with new coins especially the low-cap assets to divert the portfolio to minimize risk. We have seen many such pumps in the memes and altcoins sector in the last few weeks.
Yet Another Meme Rises with “Coinbase Effect”
The memes saw a massive surge in the crypto space after Donald Trump’s win. Leading the pack is Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) which pumped with effect from Coinbase’s plans to list it, echoing the exchange’s newfound focus on meme tokens like Mog Coin (MOG) and Turbo (TURBO). Recently GIGA hit an all-time high of $0.077, while TURBO jumped 15% after its listing was announced. Known as the “Coinbase Effect,” such announcements often spark price surges, with PNUT gaining 19% recently.
Risky Yet Rewarding
Despite its highs, PNUT is still 45% below its November peak of $2.44, achieved after a Binance listing. However the Binance officially listed PNUT, it went up by 320% surge in its value. The listing cemented its position as the top meme coin on Solana’s Pump.fun platform, where over four million meme tokens have been created. While meme coins like PNUT can deliver massive gains—one trader turned $16 into $3 million—they remain highly volatile and risky, often swinging wildly in value.
On the global scale, Bitcoin has reclaimed the $100,000 mark, dragging major altcoins like XRP, Dogecoin, and Solana into the green. The crypto market’s rebound follows data showing U.S. inflation rising at expected levels, fueling optimism among investors. In this market rally, PNUT a low cap memecoin is beating the bigger coins making a perfect scene for a meme rally in Q1 of 2025. PNUT is currently trading at $1.34 with a market cap of $1.34 billion.
Crypto analysts are bullish on PNUT’s future, with some predicting a potential 463% price surge.
Source: https://coinpedia.org/news/why-peanut-the-squirrel-pnut-is-up-today-the-meme-coins-latest-surge/