PENGU led altcoin gains today, driven by a surge in Pudgy Penguins NFT sales, as a rare bullish pattern was forming on its daily chart.
According to data from crypto.news, Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) rose over 18% to an intraday high of $0.039 on July 21, its highest price since Jan. 8, before settling at $0.036 at the time of writing. The latest move brings the token’s gains to around 360% since last month’s low and approximately 850% above its year-to-date bottom.
The rally has propelled PENGU to become the top performer among the top 100 crypto assets by market capitalization today, with the token now ranking as the 59th largest crypto asset. Its market cap currently stands above $2.3 billion.
PENGU’s price surge came as third-party data showed a strong rebound in Pudgy Penguins’ non-fungible token sales over the past seven days. Data compiled by CryptoSlam revealed that sales climbed by 51.93% to $10 million.
Pudgy Penguins ranked as the fourth most popular NFT collection during this period, overtaking other popular projects such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and Guild of Guardians Heroes.
Momentum also picked up as Smart Money investors increased their exposure to PENGU. According to Nansen data, these wallets now hold $101.21 million worth of the token, marking a 6.7% rise over the last 7 days. Interest from Smart Money is often viewed as a bullish signal, as retail investors tend to follow their moves.
PENGU’s recent gains could also be driven by optimism surrounding the potential start of an Altcoin Season. According to several analysts, Ethereum (ETH) outperforming Bitcoin’s (BTC) daily performance in recent days may be inferred as a sign that momentum is leaning in favor of altcoins.
The leading altcoin by market cap hit a 7-month high of $3,840 yesterday and holds gains of over 24.1% over the past 7 days, a stark contrast to BTC, which has dropped 0.3% during the same period.
Buoyed by this momentum, PENGU’s futures open interest hit an all-time high of $590 million on July 22. At the same time, its weighted funding rate has remained positive for 12 consecutive days, indicating that traders remain bullish and are paying a premium to maintain long positions.
If this trend continues, PENGU’s price could see further upside in the short term.
PENGU price analysis
On the daily chart, PENGU had earlier broken out of a cup and handle pattern, triggering a sharp 75% rally that hit the target price of $0.031, just as we predicted.
The token has since flipped a key ascending trendline, which had been acting as key resistance in recent weeks, into support, signaling a notable shift in market structure. It is also consolidating within a bullish pennant pattern, a continuation formation that typically precedes upward price movement.
More importantly, the 50-day simple moving average has crossed above the 200-day moving average, forming a golden cross, widely regarded by traders as a strong long-term bullish signal.
Momentum indicators support this view as well. Both the MACD and RSI are trending higher, indicating strengthening buying pressure and sustained momentum.
Given these technical signals, the next likely target for PENGU is the $0.055 resistance level, which aligns with the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement. The level sits approximately 44% above the current price.
With no other resistance levels remaining after the target, a clean breakout could push its price back to the all-time high of $0.069.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
