Abstract ¹

Pudgy Penguins' L2 built for consumer apps, using email sign-ins instead of seed phrases. Launched January 2025 with big hype but unclear substance. Created by the NFT team that sold plushies at Target — betting on bringing retail consumers to crypto through simplified UX and "digital Disneyland" branding.

Key Difference: Built to onboard non-crypto users by eliminating wallets entirely — you interact with blockchain using email/passkeys like normal apps.

Best for: Consumer apps wanting Pudgy Penguins audience, projects needing sponsored gas fees, developers betting on NFT-to-mainstream crossover.

Technical: ZK rollup using zkSync's ZK Stack, EigenDA for data availability, native account abstraction with passkey/email wallets.

• Use Cases

  • The Portal: App store/streaming platform hybrid claiming 600K MAU (unverified)
  • Consumer apps: 100+ apps at launch, mostly simple games and social
  • Pudgy ecosystem: PENGU token integration, NFT utilities
  • Target market: Non-crypto users via simplified onboarding

• Trade-offs

  • Brand-new chain with unproven tech stack at scale.
  • Relies entirely on zkSync and EigenDA infrastructure.
  • Success tied to Pudgy Penguins brand relevance.
  • Consumer blockchain thesis unproven — previous attempts failed.

• Security & Data Availability

  • ZK rollup inheriting Ethereum security via validity proofs.
  • Uses EigenDA for data availability instead of Ethereum.
  • Account abstraction built-in with social recovery options.

• Infra & Execution

  • Built on zkSync's ZK Stack framework.
  • Abstract Global Wallet (AGW) with email/passkey login.
  • Gas can be paid in any token or sponsored by apps.

• Performance

  • Standard ZK rollup performance characteristics.
  • Focus on consumer UX over raw throughput.
  • Early stage with limited stress testing.