Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) surged 23.54% to $0.018 on July 9, marking its highest value since January 2025.
The rally followed a key regulatory milestone: the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially acknowledged a proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would hold both PENGU tokens and Pudgy Penguins non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The SEC’s notice, issued under Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act, confirmed it is considering Cboe BZX Exchange’s application to list the Canary PENGU ETF.
The move has prompted renewed market enthusiasm, reinforcing PENGU’s standing among altcoins with rising institutional exposure.
Canary PENGU ETF structure ties tokens and NFTs
The proposed Canary PENGU ETF introduces a dual-asset structure that allocates between 80% and 95% of the fund’s holdings to PENGU tokens and 5% to 15% to Pudgy Penguins NFTs.
This blend of digital assets offers investors exposure to both the meme coin and its associated NFT collection. Canary Capital first submitted the S1 filing for the fund in March.
A follow-up 19b-4 was filed by Cboe BZX on June 25 and later amended twice, with the most recent update filed on July 8.
The ETF, if approved, would trade under the Commodity-Based Trust Shares category per Cboe BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4).
It represents a rare combination of fungible and non-fungible blockchain assets in a single listed product, a strategy not yet approved for any other altcoin ETF by the SEC.
SEC opens public comment window on PENGU ETF
Following the acknowledgement, the SEC has now opened a 21-day public comment window, beginning after the filing’s publication in the Federal Register.
This phase does not imply approval but is a required step before a final decision can be made.
While Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have been cleared under the Trump administration’s more crypto-friendly SEC, no altcoin or meme coin ETF has received formal approval to date.
However, the SEC has shown willingness to consider applications, and the PENGU filing is among the few currently under active review.
The ETF notice has had a measurable market impact. PENGU’s price spiked immediately following the SEC’s acknowledgement, making it the top daily gainer on CoinGecko at the time of writing.
The token’s performance mirrors earlier rallies in March and June, when initial filings triggered similar surges.
Technical signals and ETF interest drive sentiment
Traders and market watchers have identified a cup-and-handle formation in PENGU’s price chart, a common bullish continuation pattern.
This setup suggests the possibility of further gains if resistance levels are broken.
PENGU has now emerged as one of the few meme coins with a path to ETF market exposure.
The combination of technical bullish signals and a regulatory event has driven investor speculation that the token could become a leader in its category during the current cycle.
The price movement also comes amid a broader trend of altcoins attempting to gain institutional legitimacy through regulated products.
PENGU’s rally is being closely watched as a potential test case for crypto ETFs that move beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, especially given the inclusion of NFTs in its structure.
Though the final outcome of the ETF proposal remains uncertain, the price response highlights growing confidence among retail and institutional investors in tokenised products that link fungible and non-fungible digital assets.
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