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Social media is buzzing with posts about Peanut, a popular pet squirrel with 500,000 Instagram followers, who was euthanized by New York state officials. In the wake of this, a wave of Peanut-themed meme coins has taken off, showing substantial gains over the weekend.
Peanut the Squirrel’s Legacy Lives On in Meme Coins and Social Media Buzz
Peanut the squirrel rocketed to internet stardom, joining the ranks of other adored animal icons like Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippo from Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo. Through his Instagram, where Peanut shared the spotlight with his owner Mark Longo, the duo captured the hearts of 500,000 followers.
Longo first rescued Peanut seven years ago, after witnessing the young squirrel’s mother hit by a car in New York City. With a serious injury that made life in the wild impossible, Peanut found a permanent home with Longo, who nursed him back to health and became his devoted caretaker.
On Oct. 30, 2024, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) seized Peanut and another of Longo’s pets, a raccoon named Fred, after receiving several anonymous tips about their alleged unlawful ownership. The DEC argued that these wild animals could potentially carry rabies, posing a risk to public safety.
During the so-called ‘investigation,’ Peanut reportedly bit an official, prompting the agency to euthanize both animals for rabies testing. Longo, unreserved in his response, has criticized the agency’s priorities, arguing they should focus on urgent public health matters instead of taking away beloved pets like Peanut.
Since the incident, Peanut has sparked quite the buzz across social media platforms like X, with memes showing Donald Trump proudly posed alongside Peanut, and even X owner Elon Musk joining in on the Peanut meme action. Peanut’s impact has also spilled into the crypto scene, with dexscreener.com reporting a slew of Solana-based meme coins branded with Peanut’s name.
Some of these coins boast liquidity ranging from $300,000 to $1.6 million, while nearly all are showing triple-digit gains over the weekend. Three of the top tokens collectively claim a market valuation nearing $200 million. Dexscreener.com highlights one particular Peanut coin, $PNUT, which claims to have skyrocketed by 3 million percent, bringing its alleged market valuation to $6.36 billion and showing $657,000 in trading liquidity.
Almost all Peanut-inspired meme coins appeared after state officials put Peanut down, with roughly a dozen versions of these coins minted across multiple chains. Much like the rise of Moo Deng-themed tokens or meme coins around politicians and other quirky subjects, it’s no shock that Peanut’s story inspired a new wave of tokens. On social media, supporters of each version are asserting that theirs is the “true and original” Peanut coin. How long this fad will last is anyone’s guess, nevertheless, Peanut’s tale becomes a curious case of internet culture.