Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) is a Solana meme coin born from a viral news story in late 2024: a pet squirrel named Peanut, with a large social-media following, was seized and euthanized by authorities, sparking public outrage. The token launched right as the story went viral and rode the emotional wave. Like all pure memes it has no product, technology or cash flow — its value is entirely a function of attention, community and the emotional origin story. It has a fixed 1 billion supply, no transaction taxes, a renounced contract and burned liquidity (technical touches meant to signal it isn't a rug-pull), and the community frames it around animal-welfare and charity themes.
Where it stands today: PNUT briefly became a billion-dollar meme after Elon Musk and others amplified the story, which helped it get listed on major exchanges (Binance, Coinbase) with real trading liquidity. But it has since collapsed roughly 98% from its peak, now a small-cap worth a tiny fraction of its former value. There's even been litigation around the Solana meme-coin launch platform tied to it. So today it's a recognizable but deeply faded meme — still liquid and listed, but far from its viral moment, kept alive mainly by a community clinging to the original story.