News Scrap

Key Takeaways

PNUT’s market cap surpassed $1 billion within 48 hours due to a Binance listing.
60% of Binance’s meme coin listings are Solana-based, with significant market growth observed.

Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), a newly launched meme coin on the Solana blockchain, has surged past $1 billion in market cap in less than 48 hours after being listed on Binance.

According to data from CoinGecko, PNUT’s market cap was around $128 million ahead of the Binance listing announcement, and has since jumped 10 times, achieving a market cap of $1.3 billion on November 13.

PNUT’s price has skyrocketed over 280% to $1.6 in the last 24 hours. Over a week, the token has risen around 1,177%.

PNUT was launched on the pump.fun memecoin creator platform soon after the tragic story of a pet squirrel named Peanut went viral.

Peanut’s euthanasia by New York City’s Department of Environmental Conservation officials has sparked an outpouring of grief and anger on social media. High-profile figures, including Elon Musk and Donald Trump, also expressed their outrage over what they perceived as government overreach.

Government overreach kidnapped an orphan squirrel and executed him … https://t.co/YKoOCJWLMv

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2024

The popularity of the PNUT token is largely fueled by the emotional connection many feel towards Peanut and the viral nature of his story.

Peanut the Squirrel has entered the top 100 crypto assets by market cap, surpassing Jupiter (JUP), Pyth Network (PYTH), and Worldcoin (WLD).

Binance faces backlash over meme coin listings

Other Solana-based meme tokens have seen similar surges after Binance listings. The AI Prophecy (ACT) saw its market cap rise from $20 million to over $650 million following its Monday listing on Binance, with its price climbing from $0.02 to $0.6, CoinGecko data shows.

According to on-chain analyst Ai_9684xtpa, Binance has listed 15 meme coin projects this year, including futures and spot.

About 80% of these tokens experienced significant market value growth post-listing, with NEIRO showing gains of up to 7,594%. Solana-based memecoins represent 60% of Binance’s meme coin listings.

The rapid price increases have sparked criticism of Binance’s listing criteria, with some accusing the exchange of enabling pump-and-dump schemes.