Pudgy Penguins

Is Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) Halal? A CoinStudy HCS Analysis

In April 2022, a collection of 8,888 cartoon penguin images was on the verge of collapse.

The original Pudgy Penguins NFT project had been abandoned by its founding team amid internal disputes. Floor prices had crashed. Community trust had evaporated. Most observers expected Pudgy Penguins to follow the overwhelming majority of NFT collections into irrelevance and eventual zero.

Instead, entrepreneur Luca Netz acquired the project for 750 ETH and began executing one of the most improbable brand turnarounds in crypto history. By 2026, Pudgy Penguins toys have landed in thousands of stores worldwide, including Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and international outlets such as 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Don Quijote, with 2025 retail sales estimated between $13 and $32 million. Annual toy revenue is now projected to exceed $50 million. Major partnerships with Manchester City, NASCAR, the NHL Winter Classic, and DreamWorks animation for a Lil Pudgys animated series have transformed a near-defunct NFT collection into a recognizable consumer brand. (Kucoin CoinStat)

The PENGU token launched in December 2024 as the ecosystem's utility and governance token, distributed across millions of wallets through a broad airdrop. The Visa-backed Pengu Card partnership enables PENGU spending at over 150 million merchants worldwide. Abstract, a Layer 2 blockchain built on ZKsync's zkStack infrastructure, powers the ecosystem's consumer applications with lower fees and faster transactions. (Kucoin CoinStat)

For Muslim investors, the Pudgy Penguins story presents one of the most genuinely complex assessments in the NFT and brand token category. It is clearly not a pure meme coin. It has real physical products generating real revenue at real retailers. It has genuine institutional partnerships. And it has specific and honest concerns around speculative market dynamics, ongoing token unlocks, and the fragility of brand-dependent value propositions.

We ran PENGU through the full CoinStudy Halal Crypto Standard (HCS) methodology with comprehensive research into all 2026 developments. Here is the complete picture.

Quick Verdict: Pudgy Penguins Is Halal With Concerns ⚠️

Pudgy Penguins passes all five CoinStudy HCS Sharia red-line checks with no violations. It scores 64 out of 100 and is classified as Halal With Concerns, updated from the previous score of 62 to reflect significant 2026 ecosystem developments including the Visa Pengu Card, NHL and Manchester City partnerships, DreamWorks animation deal, and growing toy retail revenue. The score remains at the lower boundary of Halal With Concerns due to ongoing concerns around speculative market dynamics, monthly token unlocks creating persistent supply pressure, the July 2026 gaming partner collapse, and the fundamental uncertainty inherent in brand-dependent valuations.

What Is Pudgy Penguins in 2026?

Pudgy Penguins in July 2026 is significantly more than the NFT collection it originated as. The project has executed a strategic evolution from a digital collectibles project into what it describes as a phygital consumer brand spanning physical merchandise, blockchain gaming, Layer 2 infrastructure, fintech integration, and entertainment media.

The ecosystem has several distinct components that each require individual compliance assessment.

The NFT Collection consists of 8,888 original Pudgy Penguins and 21,695 Lil Pudgys, the secondary collectible series. These are digital ownership certificates on Ethereum representing penguin character images with varying traits. Their value is determined by community enthusiasm, brand recognition, and speculative collector demand.

The Physical Toy Line represents the most commercially significant development in the brand's history. Physical toy sales reached $10 to $13 million in late 2024, with annual projections exceeding $50 million as retail partnerships expand across Walmart, Target, Amazon, Walgreens, GameStop, and Toys R Us. These toys connect to blockchain features through QR code redemptions that unlock digital rewards and Pudgy World traits.

Abstract Chain is a Layer 2 blockchain solution built on ZKsync's zkStack virtual machine designed to simplify on-chain interactions and create a user-friendly environment for consumer applications. Abstract powers the Pudgy World gaming experience and serves as the infrastructure for the broader consumer ecosystem. (CoinMarketCap)

Pudgy World is a browser-based open-world gaming experience that has onboarded thousands of non-crypto users through physical toy integration. PENGU functions as the in-game currency for transactions, upgrades, and participation in community events.

The Pengu Card is a Visa partnership with KAST enabling PENGU spending at over 150 million merchants worldwide, representing one of the most concrete mainstream payment utility developments in the NFT token space.

PENGU is the ecosystem's utility and governance token deployed across both Ethereum and Solana blockchains, with the majority of trading activity occurring on Solana. Monthly token unlocks continue releasing additional supply into circulation, with unlocks occurring on July 17, 2026 and mid-August 2026 as confirmed in project documentation.

The 2026 Developments — Every Update Analyzed

Visa Pengu Card Launch

The Pengu Card partnership with Visa and KAST enables PENGU spending at over 150 million merchants worldwide. This is one of the most significant utility developments for any NFT ecosystem token in 2026. The ability to spend PENGU at mainstream merchants through Visa infrastructure moves the token from a purely speculative crypto asset toward a functional payment instrument for everyday purchases.

From a compliance perspective, the Pengu Card is the most compelling positive development in the 2026 analysis. Payment functionality at mainstream retailers is precisely the genuine utility that reduces Maysir concerns around speculative market dynamics. A token that can be spent at 150 million merchants has a use case that does not depend exclusively on other speculators buying it.

Muslim investors should note that the Pengu Card mechanism itself requires individual assessment of the specific payment structure including whether any credit or interest-bearing features are incorporated in the card product. A debit-style card spending existing PENGU holdings is permissible. A credit card arrangement that charges interest would be Haram regardless of the currency used.

NHL 2026 Winter Classic and Manchester City Partnerships

Collaborations with the NHL 2026 Winter Classic partnership and the Visa Pengu Card launch are fundamental ecosystem developments providing real-world utility that traditional meme coins cannot offer. Major partnerships with Manchester City and NASCAR aim to onboard millions of new users. (CoinStat)

These sports partnerships represent genuine brand visibility in mainstream audiences rather than crypto-native promotion. NHL and Manchester City audiences include tens of millions of people who have no crypto exposure. If even a small percentage engage with Pudgy World or purchase Pudgy toys as a result of these partnerships, the genuine non-speculative user base grows meaningfully.

DreamWorks Animated Series

Brand partnerships including DreamWorks for the Lil Pudgys animated series with TheSoul Publishing represent genuine media and entertainment licensing that extends the brand beyond the crypto community. An animated series reaching mainstream streaming audiences could provide the kind of organic brand growth that sustains toy sales and merchandise revenue without depending exclusively on crypto market cycles.

Abstract Chain Development

Abstract, a Layer 2 blockchain built on ZKsync's zkStack, aims to simplify on-chain interactions and create a user-friendly environment for games and social features. The Abstract ecosystem includes a 20 million PENGU token airdrop pool targeted at Pudgy holders, injecting fresh incentives into the ecosystem. (CoinMarketCap)

The Layer 2 development is positive for utility but adds technical complexity to the compliance assessment. As Abstract matures and third-party developers deploy applications on it, some applications may involve DeFi lending or other prohibited mechanisms requiring individual assessment under the infrastructure neutrality principle.

July 2026 Gaming Partner Closure — A Significant Setback

A gaming partner for Pudgy Penguins closed its gaming arm in July 2026, leading to the retirement of titles tied to the ecosystem including Pudgy Party. The decision to phase out the game for newer experiences triggered some community criticism. (BlockDag)

This development is the most significant negative update in the 2026 analysis. Gaming utility was one of the primary use cases for PENGU in the ecosystem, and the closure of a partner's gaming operations reduces the functional utility of the token. Project updates indicate a shift toward fresh gaming initiatives as part of broader ecosystem evolution, reflecting challenges in sustaining early Web3 gaming experiments amid market conditions. (BlockDag)

The gaming partner closure illustrates a fundamental risk in brand ecosystem tokens: utility can disappear when partners exit, games fail to achieve adoption, or market conditions change. This is a specific and ongoing Gharar concern for PENGU that the 2026 analysis must acknowledge honestly.

Monthly Token Unlocks — Persistent Supply Pressure

Monthly unlocks continue, with one occurring on July 17, 2026 and the next expected in mid-August. These regular supply releases create persistent downward price pressure as early investors and team members receive additional tokens they may sell into the market. (BlockDag)

The tokenomics concern is among the most significant for PENGU. Monthly unlocks that benefit early participants at the expense of public market buyers create an ongoing fairness concern that is directly reflected in the Tokenomics Fairness score. The Tokenomics score of 4 out of 10 is one of the lowest in our analysis series for any Halal With Concerns project.

SEC ETF Delay

The SEC extended the review period for the Pudgy Penguins ETF to March 2026, causing a 6% decline in PENGU price and reduced derivatives activity due to regulatory uncertainty over hybrid token-NFT structures. (CoinMarketCap)

The ETF proposal is notable because it combines exposure to both the PENGU token and physical NFTs in a single investment vehicle, which the SEC has not previously reviewed. This hybrid structure raises novel regulatory questions that have no direct precedent in the SEC's ETF approval history.

From a compliance perspective, Muslim investors should evaluate any eventual PENGU ETF product independently from the PENGU token itself. An ETF wrapper creates its own financial structure and may include features like derivatives exposure or securities lending that would carry different compliance implications from direct PENGU token holding.

IPO Considerations for 2027

Pudgy Penguins aims for scaled growth with potential IPO considerations in 2027. If Pudgy Penguins Inc. successfully conducts a public offering on a traditional stock exchange, Muslim investors with access to xStocks or other tokenized equity platforms could potentially hold equity in the operating company rather than the PENGU token, which would carry its own specific compliance assessment under the AAOIFI stock screening methodology. (BlockDag)

The Phygital Model — What It Actually Means for Islamic Finance

Pudgy Penguins describes itself as a phygital brand, a combination of physical and digital that connects real-world consumer products to blockchain features. Understanding what this actually means is essential for the compliance assessment because it determines how much of the ecosystem's value comes from genuine productive economic activity versus speculative digital markets.

The physical side of the model is genuinely commercial and genuinely permissible. Pudgy Penguins toys have landed in thousands of stores worldwide, including major chains like Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and international outlets such as 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Don Quijote. Physical products include collectible plush, keychains, and figurines developed with partners like Schleich, creating touchpoints for families and casual consumers who may never interact with blockchain directly. (Kucoin)

This physical toy business is fundamentally similar to any other licensed consumer product business. A company creates an intellectual property, licenses it for manufacturing, distributes through retail channels, earns revenue from product sales. The Islamic finance assessment of this activity is straightforward: permissible commercial activity serving genuine consumer demand.

The digital side of the model is more complex. The original NFT collection's value is determined by speculative collector demand with no fundamental economic grounding. PENGU token's value is partially supported by ecosystem utility but primarily driven by speculation on the brand's continued growth and cultural relevance.

The compliance assessment for PENGU must therefore hold both of these realities simultaneously. The physical business underneath the brand is genuinely productive and permissible. The digital token markets built on top of that business are speculative in ways that raise Gharar and Maysir concerns.

The NFT Question — Where Does It Stand in Islamic Finance?

NFTs as a category do not have settled scholarly consensus in Islamic jurisprudence. CoinStudy presents the honest range of scholarly positions rather than issuing a definitive ruling.

The permissibility arguments for NFT ownership note that digital property rights are a form of legitimate ownership, that Islamic jurisprudence recognizes intellectual property and creative works as having economic value, that NFT ownership of licensed IP gives holders documented rights that can be monetized through licensing, and that the Pudgy Penguins commercial licensing program specifically allows holders to use the NFT's image commercially, creating genuine economic value beyond speculation.

The concern arguments note that NFT prices are primarily driven by speculation rather than measurable economic fundamentals, that the market structure where early buyers profit from later buyers' enthusiasm resembles Maysir, that there is no guaranteed service being provided or productive use created by the NFT itself, and that Gharar in the form of fundamental uncertainty about whether the NFT's cultural relevance will persist is higher than for other forms of economic ownership.

CoinStudy's assessment places Pudgy Penguins in the Halal With Concerns category because the genuine commercial licensing and IP rights associated with the original NFTs provide more legitimate economic foundation than pure speculation, while the primarily hype-driven secondary market dynamics create genuine Maysir and Gharar concerns that cannot be ignored.

Muslim investors who follow scholars that consider speculative digital collectibles categorically impermissible should not hold PENGU or the underlying NFTs regardless of the physical toy business underneath the brand. Muslim investors who follow scholars that recognize digital property rights should read the full compliance assessment and understand the specific concerns before making individual decisions.

The Pengu Card — Compliance Assessment

The Visa Pengu Card deserves specific and precise compliance analysis because it is the most novel feature in the 2026 ecosystem and the one that creates the most meaningful genuine utility.

The Pengu Card enables holders to spend PENGU tokens at Visa merchant locations worldwide. This creates a direct and functional payment use case for PENGU that does not depend on other speculative buyers arriving to push the price higher.

From an Islamic finance perspective, using PENGU as a payment medium for permissible purchases at merchants is analogous to using any other digital currency for permissible transactions. Our Chairman's ruling on cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange is relevant here: use as a digital currency for permissible transactions is correct, and if used in halal means the profit is halal.

The specific compliance caution is whether the Pengu Card product incorporates any credit features, interest charges, or deferred payment mechanisms that would constitute Riba. A prepaid debit card that spends existing PENGU holdings is permissible. A credit line associated with the card that charges interest is not. Muslim investors using the Pengu Card should verify that they are using a spending mechanism rather than a borrowing mechanism.

Islamic Finance Analysis

Ecosystem Riba Exposure — Clean Core With Pengu Card Monitoring

Pudgy Penguins does not generate interest income at any level of its core protocol. The physical toy business generates revenue from product sales. The gaming ecosystem generates revenue from in-game purchases. The NFT ecosystem generates value from IP licensing and community participation.

The Financial Exposure Risk score of 23 out of 25 reflects this genuinely clean financial structure alongside a two-point honest deduction for the Pengu Card product requiring monitoring to confirm it operates as a spending mechanism without credit features, and for the Abstract chain ecosystem that may attract DeFi applications requiring individual assessment.

Gharar — Brand-Dependent Value in 2026

The Gharar score of 9 out of 15 reflects an improvement from the previous 8 out of 15, acknowledging that the physical toy revenue base provides more fundamental economic grounding than was available at the time of the previous analysis.

However significant Gharar remains. The July 2026 gaming partner closure demonstrated exactly the kind of sudden utility disappearance that makes NFT ecosystem tokens inherently uncertain. A gaming partner for Pudgy Penguins closed its gaming arm in July 2026, leading to the retirement of titles tied to the ecosystem including Pudgy Party. Partners can exit. Games can fail. Brands can lose cultural relevance overnight. These are specific and meaningful uncertainties beyond normal investment risk. (BlockDag)

The ongoing monthly token unlocks create additional Gharar from supply-side uncertainty. Monthly unlocks continue, with one occurring on July 17, 2026 and the next expected in mid-August. Muslim investors cannot predict with confidence how much selling pressure each unlock will create. (BlockDag)

Maysir — Sports Partnerships Help But NFT Dynamics Persist

The Maysir score of 8 out of 15 reflects a marginal improvement from the previous 7 out of 15, acknowledging that the NHL, Manchester City, and NASCAR partnerships provide genuine mainstream brand exposure that reduces pure speculative dynamics.

However the fundamental Maysir concern remains. PENGU operates as a hybrid asset, blending the viral growth mechanics of a meme coin with the functional utility of a gaming and governance token. The viral growth mechanics portion of this description is precisely the Maysir-relevant element. Price movements in PENGU continue to be driven significantly by community sentiment, social media trends, partnership announcements, and speculative trading rather than by measurable changes in economic fundamentals. (CoinStat)

The pattern of price sensitivity to ecosystem news, including a documented 9% jump on Pudgy World's launch and a 6% drop on the SEC ETF delay, confirms that speculative reaction to news events dominates PENGU's price behavior. This is the same dynamic that our Chairman identified in the Dogecoin ruling: coins used primarily for their fame and temporary price fluctuations rather than genuine medium of exchange demand carry the Maysir resemblance that requires caution.

Underlying Business Activity — Real Commercial Progress

The Underlying Business Activity score of 10 out of 15 is the most significant improvement from the previous 7 out of 15, and it reflects the genuine commercial progress that distinguishes Pudgy Penguins from pure meme or NFT tokens in 2026.

Physical toy sales projected to exceed $50 million annually, retail licensing across Walmart, Target, Amazon, Walgreens, GameStop, and Toys R Us, brand partnerships with DreamWorks, NHL, and Manchester City, and media content through the Lil Pudgys animated series all represent genuine permissible commercial activities generating real revenue from real consumer demand.

The improvement is real. Selling physical toys to families at Walmart is genuinely productive economic activity that Islamic commercial ethics values. The DreamWorks animation partnership creates mainstream media presence that could build durable brand recognition beyond crypto cycles.

The five-point deduction from a perfect score reflects that even with this genuine commercial progress, the PENGU token's value remains only loosely connected to the underlying business revenue. The physical toy company's success does not automatically translate into PENGU appreciation because there is no direct mechanism connecting toy revenue to token buybacks or dividends. The connection between the physical business and the digital token is primarily narrative and brand strength rather than direct economic linkage.

Utility and Real Use — Pengu Card Is Significant But Gaming Setback Hurts

The Utility and Real Use score of 6 out of 10 reflects the Pengu Card launch as a genuine and meaningful utility development alongside the honest acknowledgment of the July 2026 gaming partner closure as a significant utility setback.

The Pengu Card enabling spending at 150 million Visa merchants is the most concrete and measurable utility expansion in Pudgy Penguins' history. This is real utility that real people can use for real purchases without requiring any speculative element.

The gaming partner closure reducing ecosystem gaming options simultaneously is a meaningful negative. The retirement of Pudgy Party and other titles tied to the closed gaming arm triggered community criticism and represents a loss of ecosystem utility. (BlockDag)

The net effect is a modest utility score that acknowledges progress in payment functionality and regression in gaming utility happening simultaneously.

Tokenomics Fairness — The Most Serious Ongoing Concern

The Tokenomics Fairness score of 4 out of 10 is unchanged and remains the weakest dimension in the PENGU analysis. This reflects the combination of concerns that persist regardless of the ecosystem's commercial progress.

The monthly unlock schedule creates persistent downward supply pressure that systematically favors early investors and team members who received tokens at negligible cost while retail buyers pay market prices. Monthly unlocks continue, with one occurring on July 17, 2026 and the next expected in mid-August. (BlockDag)

The original token distribution gave significant allocations to early NFT holders, the team, and ecosystem funds in a structure that concentrated supply among insiders relative to public distribution. While the broad airdrop across millions of wallets was genuinely inclusive relative to many token launches, the ongoing unlock structure creates a supply dynamic that consistently benefits insiders over retail participants.

This is the most direct and honest concern for Muslim investors considering PENGU. The tokenomics structure where insiders receive ongoing token releases at prices far below market while retail buyers provide the exit liquidity closely resembles the wealth transfer dynamic that CoinStudy identifies in the Maysir assessment of meme coins more broadly.

Transparency and Governance — Early Stage With Improving Documentation

The Transparency and Governance score of 4 out of 10 reflects the early-stage nature of formal governance mechanisms despite improvements in documentation and communication.

Abstract chain development and Pudgy World operations generate regular project updates. The team communicates through social media and ecosystem announcements. But formal on-chain governance where PENGU holders vote on protocol decisions with documented processes and binding outcomes remains underdeveloped compared to governance-focused projects in our analysis series.

Project updates indicate a shift toward fresh gaming initiatives as part of broader ecosystem evolution, but this communication itself highlights the governance concern: major ecosystem changes including the retirement of gaming titles happen based on team decisions rather than token holder votes. (BlockDag)

CoinStudy HCS Screening Results

Layer 1 — Sharia Red Line Screening

Ecosystem Riba Exposure — ✅ Passed. No interest-bearing mechanism at any level of the core protocol.

Gambling and Betting — ✅ Passed. No gambling mechanism in the ecosystem.

Haram Industry — ✅ Passed. Consumer toys, entertainment, gaming, and brand licensing are permissible.

Guaranteed Interest — ✅ Passed. No predetermined percentage returns on deposited capital.

Synthetic Interest Products — ✅ Passed. PENGU is a brand utility and governance token with no synthetic interest structure.

No red line violations found.

Layer 2 — HCS Score Breakdown

On Financial Exposure Risk, weighted at 25%, PENGU scores 23 out of 25. Clean protocol with no interest mechanism. Two-point deduction for Pengu Card monitoring requirement and Abstract chain ecosystem development.

On Gharar, weighted at 15%, PENGU scores 9 out of 15. Physical toy revenue provides more fundamental grounding than previously. Gaming partner closure and monthly unlocks maintain significant uncertainty.

On Maysir, weighted at 15%, PENGU scores 8 out of 15. Sports partnerships provide genuine mainstream brand exposure reducing pure speculative dynamics. PENGU hybrid asset description combining meme coin viral mechanics with utility token features reflects ongoing speculative character.

On Underlying Business Activity, weighted at 15%, PENGU scores 10 out of 15. Genuine commercial progress from toy retail at major chains, DreamWorks animation, NHL and Manchester City partnerships. Physical business success not directly linked to token value through economic mechanism.

On Utility and Real Use, weighted at 10%, PENGU scores 6 out of 10. Pengu Card at 150 million Visa merchants is meaningful concrete utility. July 2026 gaming partner closure reduces ecosystem gaming utility simultaneously.

On Tokenomics Fairness, weighted at 10%, PENGU scores 4 out of 10. Monthly unlock schedule persistently benefits insiders over retail participants. Ongoing supply releases create systematic fairness concerns.

On Transparency and Governance, weighted at 10%, PENGU scores 4 out of 10. Improving project communication but underdeveloped formal on-chain governance. Major ecosystem decisions made by team rather than token holder votes.

Overall HCS Score: 64 out of 100 — Halal With Concerns

Pudgy Penguins vs Shiba Inu vs PEPE — The NFT and Meme Token Comparison Updated

Muslim investors evaluating NFT ecosystem tokens and culturally-driven cryptocurrencies can now compare several projects with updated 2026 scores.

PEPE scores 54 out of 100 Doubtful. Pure meme token with virtually no utility development. No physical products. No institutional partnerships. Near-Haram boundary.

Shiba Inu scores 59 out of 100 Doubtful. Meme token with attempted ecosystem development through Shibarium and ShibaSwap. Genuine development effort but minimal adoption achieved.

Pudgy Penguins scores 64 out of 100 Halal With Concerns. Genuine physical toy business with $50M+ projected annual revenue. Real mainstream retail presence. Visa payment card. NHL, Manchester City, DreamWorks partnerships. These real commercial developments create more legitimate economic foundation than PEPE or SHIB achieve.

The score progression shows that genuine brand development and commercial revenue create meaningfully more permissible economic foundation than pure digital speculation. Pudgy Penguins scores a full 10 points above Shiba Inu precisely because the physical toy business, retail partnerships, and Visa card represent genuine productive economic activity that SHIB lacks entirely.

But a score of 64 still reflects that the token's value remains primarily speculative, governance is underdeveloped, tokenomics persistently favor insiders, and the fundamental uncertainty of brand-dependent valuations creates significant Gharar that distinguishes PENGU from genuinely utility-driven infrastructure tokens scoring 80 and above.

Important Questions for Muslim Investors

Before investing in PENGU, ask yourself honestly.

Do I understand that despite genuine commercial progress with toys, partnerships, and the Visa Pengu Card, the PENGU token's price behavior remains primarily driven by speculative market dynamics and community sentiment rather than direct economic linkage to the physical toy revenue? Am I aware that monthly token unlocks continue through mid-2026 and beyond, systematically adding supply that benefits insiders who received tokens at negligible cost over retail buyers who pay market prices? Do I understand that the July 2026 gaming partner closure demonstrated how quickly ecosystem utility can disappear when partners exit or games fail, illustrating the specific Gharar risk of partner-dependent utility? Am I comfortable with the Pengu Card before verifying it operates as a debit spending mechanism without any credit or interest-bearing features that would constitute Riba? If Pudgy Penguins Inc. conducts the 2027 IPO being discussed, would I consider holding equity in the operating company rather than the PENGU token, which would carry different and potentially cleaner compliance implications under AAOIFI stock screening methodology? Am I investing based on genuine conviction in the commercial brand thesis or primarily following NFT market sentiment and partnership announcement momentum?

Final Verdict

Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) is classified as Halal With Concerns under the CoinStudy Halal Crypto Standard with an updated score of 64 out of 100.

The 2026 developments represent genuine and meaningful commercial progress that distinguishes Pudgy Penguins from pure meme tokens. Physical toy sales projected to exceed $50 million annually, retail distribution across Walmart, Target, Amazon, Walgreens, GameStop, and Toys R Us, brand partnerships with DreamWorks for animation, NHL and Manchester City for sports visibility, and the Visa Pengu Card enabling spending at 150 million merchants collectively represent some of the most substantial real-world commercial development achieved by any NFT ecosystem project.

This genuine commercial progress is reflected in the score improvement from 62 to 64 and in the improvement of the Underlying Business Activity score from 7 to 10 out of 15.

The concerns that prevent a higher classification are equally specific and honest. Monthly token unlocks continue creating persistent supply pressure from insider positions. The July 2026 gaming partner closure eliminated ecosystem utility. The fundamental brand-dependent nature of PENGU's value creates Gharar that genuine infrastructure projects do not carry. The tokenomics structure persistently benefits early participants over retail buyers. Formal governance remains underdeveloped. (BlockDag)

For Muslim investors, the Islamic guidance to leave doubtful matters for those that are clear applies at this score level. With numerous clearly halal-rated options scoring 80 and above in our library across genuine blockchain infrastructure, service-based DePIN networks, and enterprise platforms, PENGU's combination of elevated speculation, tokenomics concerns, and brand-dependent uncertainty gives Muslim investors limited compelling reason to engage when better-established halal alternatives provide clearer compliance profiles and genuine productive economic purpose.

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Disclaimer: This analysis is provided for educational and research purposes only. This analysis is based on guidance from CoinStudy's HCS Shariah Board members. The NFT scholarly debate presented reflects genuine scholarly disagreement rather than a definitive ruling. Muslim investors who follow scholars considering speculative digital collectibles categorically impermissible should not hold PENGU regardless of the physical business performance. CoinStudy does not issue personal fatwas or financial advice. Please consult a qualified Islamic scholar for individual guidance, particularly regarding the Pengu Card's specific financial structure and the Islamic finance status of NFT ownership.