Pudgy Penguins Token Faces Market Test as Analysts Eye Key Support Levels

Monicah W

Pudgy Penguins’ native token PENGU has entered a correction phase after peaking near $0.047, slipping toward critical support levels. Analysts suggest the token’s resilience may hinge on institutional moves, Asian expansion, and merchandise-driven brand growth.

Token Pullback After Local Peak

PENGU was trading around $0.031 Monday through Tuesday, down 6% in 24 hours and 21% over the past week. The decline follows a sharp rally that took the token as high as $0.047 before sellers stepped in earlier this month.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez characterized the decline as “a healthy correction,” suggesting the market may stabilize around $0.025. He noted that potential catalysts remain in play, including speculation over an exchange-traded fund (ETF) filing, rising demand in Asian markets, and strong momentum in Pudgy Penguins’ physical toy sales.

Market data compiled by Altcoin Sherpa highlights a technical support zone between $0.030 and $0.025, anchored by the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement level. The analyst remarked that PENGU is revisiting price regions “worth watching” and expects near-term volatility before any sustained upward move.

Trading volumes have slowed during the retreat, which some traders see as a sign of consolidation rather than continued weakness. If the token holds above the $0.025 threshold, analysts argue it could establish a foundation for a renewed rally.

NFT Market Weakness Meets Institutional Adoption

Beyond the token price, the Pudgy Penguins NFT ecosystem has also faced pressure. The collection’s market capitalization fell 17% over the past week, sliding from $591 million to $491 million. Despite the decline, Pudgy Penguins remains one of the top-ranked NFT projects in terms of value.

Institutional interest, however, is beginning to emerge. BTCS Inc., a Nasdaq-listed blockchain company, recently disclosed the purchase of three Pudgy Penguins NFTs for its corporate treasury. The move underscores a broader trend of companies experimenting with NFTs as part of their digital asset strategies.

While short-term volatility is likely, analysts suggest PENGU’s medium-term trajectory will depend on whether new institutional products like ETFs materialize and whether Asia-driven growth in both digital and physical markets accelerates. For now, the $0.025 level is shaping up as the line investors are watching closely.

The post Pudgy Penguins Token Faces Market Test as Analysts Eye Key Support Levels appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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MMA Star Conor McGregor’s REAL Token Draws Backlash Over Structure and Execution

Conor McGregor, the former UFC champion, has entered the crypto scene with the launch of a new memecoin dubbed REAL.

Despite the star power behind it, REAL is off to a sluggish start, struggling to attract investor interest in a memecoin market that is still reeling from recent scandals.

Conor McGregor’s REAL Token Raises Just $218,000

Announced on April 5, McGregor unveiled his plans to disrupt the digital asset space, claiming he had already changed the fight, whiskey, and stout industries.

“I changed the FIGHT game. I changed the WHISKEY game. I changed the STOUT game. Now it’s time to change the CRYPTO game. This is just the beginning. This is REAL,” McGregor announced on X.

His latest move involves a partnership with Real World Gaming DAO to launch REAL. The token promises staking rewards and governance rights through a decentralized autonomous organization.

According to the project’s website, the team opted for a sealed-bid auction model to launch the token, aiming to prevent bot manipulation and create fairer pricing.

Under this system, participants submitted bids using USDC. Successful bidders would receive REAL tokens based on a clearing price, while those who didn’t meet the mark would be refunded.

“The auction will be open for 28 hours, after which a single clearing price will be determined. Tokens will be locked for 12 hours after auction close to facilitate a snipe-free deployment of on-chain liquidity. Proceeds from the auction will seed this pool and fund the DAO treasury,” the project added.

However, the community’s response to the project has been underwhelming. The team aimed to raise $3.6 million, with a minimum threshold of $1 million. As of press time, the auction has raised just $218,000, far below expectations.

REAL Token Fundraise.
REAL Token Fundraise. Source: REAL Website

Several issues appear to be fueling investor hesitation. Critics have called out the token’s short unlock window, warning that it creates ideal conditions for rapid sell-offs.

Others raised concerns about the project’s use of third-party logos on its site, hinting at misleading promotional tactics.

Moreover, community feedback about the project has also been overwhelmingly negative. Many users labeled the tokenomics as flawed and accused the team of focusing on short-term hype rather than sustainable value.

“If you’re buying REAL token, prepare to get dumped on. The tokenomics are absolute trash, and the unlock cliff is only 12 hours. You’re essentially giving your money away if you buy this token,” Crypto Rug Muncher wrote.

Conor McGreggor's REAL Token Tokenomics.
Conor McGregor’s REAL Token Tokenomics. Source: REAL Website

Meanwhile, the dismal launch reflects broader exhaustion in the meme coin sector, which has been rattled by recent scandals involving other celebrity-backed tokens.

Tokens tied to Donald Trump and Melania, for instance, have seen sharp declines that have caused investors significant losses.

“Celebrity coins like McGregor’s REAL and Trumps’ are toxic for crypto! Driven by hype, they lack utility, $Trump crashed 81%, $Melania 92%. These [tokens] hurt investors and crypto’s reputation. We need utility tokens for real value and growth,” Maragkos Petros, the founder of MetadudesX said on social media platform X.

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Base Chain Outage Renews Concerns Over Coinbase’s Centralized Sequencer Model

Coinbase Layer-2 network, Base chain, experienced an outage on Tuesday, temporarily halting block production.

While the situation was resolved shortly after, it rekindled concerns over sequencer centralization.

Base Chain Temporary Outage: Everything Users Need to Know

Base chain suffered an outage on Tuesday, causing a temporary halt in block production. Data on Basescan, the Base chain explorer, shows that the Base network did not produce a block for 20 minutes.

Base Chain Outage
Base Chain Outage. Source: Basescan

Notably, the chain halt was only localized to block production, with all other services operating normally.

When Base blockchain halts block production, it does not record new transactions, causing delays. As of this publication, neither Base nor its creator, Jesse Pollak, had addressed the incident to explain what happened.

Reports attribute the incident to an anomaly in the Base network, but it is imperative to note that this incident ends nearly two years of uninterrupted operation. Some users likened it to Solana, which has experienced multiple outages over the years.

“Base went down for 23 mins and not a peep. If it were Solana, you’d never hear the end of it,” one user remarked.

Meanwhile, the incident validates the concerns about centralized sequencers. Base’s reliance on a single sequencer run by the Coinbase exchange creates a single point of failure.

Based on this outlook, Base chain’s recent outage raises questions about the decentralization claims of such networks.

Sequencers Under Scrutiny After Base Outage Sparks Centralization Debate

Attention has turned to a critical but often overlooked component of Layer-2 (L2) blockchains, the sequencer.

The sequencer is responsible for ordering, verifying, and batching transactions before anchoring them to Ethereum. It acts as the “air traffic controller” for roll-up networks like Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

While these systems offer faster and cheaper transactions, critics warn that today’s sequencers are centralized, typically run by the network’s founding company.

This setup introduces potential single points of failure, censorship risks, and vulnerabilities to regulatory pressure.

Coinbase, for instance, runs Base’s sequencer, which analysts estimate could generate $30 million in annual revenue.

“BASE has been sending all sequencer fees to Coinbase since launch. We don’t know if they sold, but we do know they didn’t deploy those funds on Base or keep them on-chain. The lack of transparency makes it fair to assume they sold. Not very Ethereum-aligned of them,” wrote DeFi researcher Santisa in a recent post.

Coinbase’s Q2 2025 earnings did not explicitly state Base’s transaction volume. However, the report noted a 55% rise in Base transaction volume quarter-over-quarter. Other transaction revenue, including Base, was $34 million, down 35% from Q2, attributed to lower sequencer fee revenue.

“Why fast interop matters for rollup–it’s simply a must, in order to stay competitive against exchange rollups like Base. – Coinbase <> Base is extremely fast because there’s no external trust, since Coinbase trusts its own sequencer. – Coinbase sets pessimistic delays for all other rollups other than Base, with the notable exception being the Avalanche C-Chain (which is relatively decentralized),” wrote Wei Dai, another DeFi researcher.

It points to significant Base platform potential, which could make Coinbase an even bigger powerhouse in the DeFi space.

Despite ongoing discussions about decentralizing sequencers, most leading roll-ups have yet to implement such changes.

As the demand for roll-up solutions grows, the pressure is mounting for Ethereum’s layer 2 networks to align with the blockchain ethos of trustless and distributed infrastructure.

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ZKsync Price Falters Despite 90% of Stolen Funds Returned Within Safe Harbor Deadline

Over a week after the Zksync hacking incident, the exploiter agreed to a bounty and returned a significant portion of the loot.

Despite recovering stolen funds, the network’s powering token, ZK, continues to exhibit bearish sentiment.

ZKSync Hacker Returns $5.7 Million

On April 15, the Ethereum-based  Layer-2 scalability solution, ZKsync, suffered a hack. The compromised account controlled $5 million worth of ZK tokens. As BeInCrypto reported, the incident had caused a 16% price drop.

The incident was controversial after some community members noticed some concerning data. The revelations led to dire allegations, with some likening ZkSync to Mantra (OM). To some, ZKsync responded to the hack by dumping their assets at an accelerated pace.

“The ZkSync team has released 110 million tokens and sold 66 million. The price of ZK is going against the trend as the market is recovering, and it has immediately dropped by 15%. First OM, now ZK, this project seems to be heading in the wrong direction,” one user noted.

This bordered on embezzlement. However, in a recent development, the ZKsync Association revealed that the hacker returned 90% of the funds, effectively honoring the safe harbor deadline.

Through an April 21 post on X (Twitter), the ZKsync Security Council offered the hacker a 10% bounty if they returned the stolen funds, allowing a 72-hour window.

“To resolve this matter amicably in the spirit of safe harbor, we are offering a 10% bounty for your cooperation if you return 90% of the funds involved in the exploit,” ZK Nation shared on X.

As it happened, the bad actor heeded, transferring almost $5.7 million to the ZKsync Security Council across three transfers on April 23.

Specifically, they sent two transfers on the ZKsync Era blockchain. The first involved sending $1.83 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) to the ZKsync Security Council’s ZKsync Era address, and the second involved sending $2.47 million worth of ZKsync tokens.

Transfers made through the ZkSync Era blockchain
Transfers made through the ZkSync Era blockchain. Source: explorer.zksync.io

In the third transaction, the ZKSync hacker sent 776 ETH worth approximately $1.4 million to the ZkSync Security Council’s Ethereum address.

Transfers made to the ZKsync Security Council’s ZKsync Era address
Transfers made to the ZKsync Security Council’s ZKsync Era address. Source: Etherscan.io

With this, the ZKsync Association committed to publishing a final report revealing more details about the security incident.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the hacker followed instructions given by the ZKsync Security Council to the letter. Based on this, the case closes without further action.

It mirrors past incidents, including Ronin Bridge hackers returning $10 million worth of ETH and earning a $500,000 bounty.

Despite the turn of events, however, the ZK token continues to display bearish sentiment, down by nearly 2% in the last 24 hours. As of this writing, ZKsync’s token was trading for $0.06.

ZKsync (ZK) Price Performance
ZKsync (ZK) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto

Meanwhile, not all hacking incidents honor safe harbor offers. Recently, Bybit launched a bounty program offering up to 10% of recovered funds to ethical hackers and cybersecurity experts.

This incentivized efforts to reclaim $1.4 billion in stolen assets. While some efforts to reclaim lost assets yielded results, the partial recovery was thanks to key industry players stepping in, not the exploiter.

Meanwhile, other ecosystems leverage bounty programs to bolster security. Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson recently offered a $1 million bounty for hacking the new Lace Paper Wallet, testing its security.

Similarly, Uniswap announced a record-breaking $15.5 million bug bounty targeting critical vulnerabilities in its v4 core contracts.

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