‘Peanut’ the squirrel is dead, but the meme coin named after him is still mooning.
A late-night post from technocrat Elon Musk slamming U.S. authorities for euthanizing the viral squirrel while failing to charge anyone from Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged client list preceded a volume and price spike, data shows, showing speculative fervor is alive and well in the market.
(The “Epstein list” refers to high-profile individuals allegedly connected to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking network. No official, verified public list exists.)
“Government is deeply broken,” Musk wrote. “They arrested (and killed) Peanut, but have not even tried to file charges against anyone on the Epstein client list.”
Within minutes, Solana-based meme token PNUT spiked over 10% as traders piled in on the name-drop.
PNUT, which has no affiliation with the actual squirrel or Musk, saw trading volumes surge over 120% from $65 million to $214 million in a 24-hour period, according to CoinGecko. The token’s price briefly touched 23 cents before cooling.
With no protocol, no utility, and no roadmap, PNUT trades purely on cultural resonance and reflexive speculation. That makes it a favorite for momentum hunters, and a token to watch for when controversial topics do the rounds — at least on Musk’s X.
