Pudgy Penguins has officially refuted widespread rumors about acquiring NFT marketplace OpenSea. Beau, the project's Head of Security, dismissed speculation via a July 26, 2025 tweet stating: "Pudgy Penguins didn’t buy Opensea… chill. The scale of things planned for the Penguin is so large that you need not speculate on a single acquisition." Instead, he redirected attention to the project's active brand partnership strategy, citing collaborations with Lufthansa and NASCAR.
The rumors originated from CEO Luca Netz's past expressions of interest in OpenSea, amplified by timing coincidences between Pudgy's December announcements and OpenSea's token policy changes. Despite community speculation, Beau emphasized that "you need not speculate on a single acquisition" while encouraging supporters to identify new brand collaboration opportunities.
Concurrently, Pudgy Penguins NFT sales surged 336.17% over 30 days to $23.09 million, ranking fifth among NFT collections. Associated token PENGU posted remarkable gains: 34.9% (7-day), 80.8% (14-day), and 333.5% (30-day). The project's partnership-focused approach leverages existing corporate infrastructure rather than platform ownership, aiming for broader audience reach.