Cole Villemain, also known as ColeThereum, the Pudgy Penguins co-founder who left the project after allegations that he misused its treasury, is selling NFTs again.
On Sunday, Villemain previewed a new collection set to launch on Robinhood Chain. The teaser drew more than half a million views and quickly split reaction between people welcoming his return and others pointing to the record he left behind in earlier crypto projects.
Past controversies return with him
Villemain faced treasury misuse allegations during his time at Pudgy Penguins, and that was not the only controversy attached to his name.
In August 2021, blockchain investigator ZachXBT profiled one of Villemain’s pre-crypto businesses, a dropshipping site called eBoy Outlet. According to ZachXBT, the store’s reviews were "filled with instances of customers not receiving orders, refunds, or responses from support."
Villemain denied wrongdoing and said he had refunded customers who did not receive the merchandise they ordered.
He also launched My Fucking Pickle, another NFT collection that collapsed within weeks of its creation. ZachXBT wrote, "Have to love cash grab projects."
The floor price for that collection now stands at $13, down 98% from its June 27, 2021 peak above $540.
A new collection on Robinhood Chain
Villemain’s new collection appears to be themed around fantasy video games, though details on the splash page remain sparse.
No NFTs are available to mint yet. Villemain warned, "No contract or site is live yet."
Instead of using Ethereum, he has chosen Robinhood Chain, a newer blockchain launched by brokerage firm Robinhood.
That chain has already run into problems. By the Robinhood CEO’s own admission, Robinhood Chain did not stay focused on its original mission of real-world asset tokenization and was instead overrun by memecoins.
Robinhood launched the blockchain on July 1 and pitched it as a home for tokenized stocks and US Treasuries. Protos previously documented wallet drainers, phishing pages, rug-pulls, and collapsing memecoins spreading across Robinhood Chain in early July.
Villemain’s X bio includes its own disclaimer: "All tweets are sarcasm or theatrics and not financial advice."
A sales pitch built on NFT nostalgia
Nostalgia appears to sit at the center of Villemain’s pitch.
He described his own marketing plan as "running back one of the oldest tricks in the book of 2021 NFT projects" and said he was "delusional enough to believe I can drop the #1 NFT on Robinhood Chain."
Plenty of users were unconvinced.
One developer posted on X, "The space never changes. Same guy who did early meme NFT cash grabs, co-founded Pudgy Penguins, then got kicked out after treasury-drain accusations is now launching a new NFT project on Robinhood Chain. Half of Crypto Twitter is acting like none of that ever happened."
Another X user predicted another letdown: "This is not the first time he’s launched something and rug pulled it using his luck with PP as a cosign for legitimacy."
A third critic wrote, "He disappeared long enough for you and many to have no clue who he is. Only to come back and do the same thing."
The 2022 vote that removed Pudgy Penguins founders
The comeback is landing in a market that has not forgotten the NFT collapse. By 2022, NFT trading volume had fallen 97%, and many NFTs were down 98%. Some pieces that once traded in six figures had dropped 99%.
On January 5, 2022, an investor alleged that Pudgy Penguins founders drained the project’s ETH. The following day, holders voted the founders out in a community vote held in the project’s Discord server.
Villemain later announced a January break from X, saying he wanted to focus on "mental health."
By April 2022, the remaining leaders sold Pudgy Penguins for 750 ETH, worth about $2.5 million at the time, to a group led by Los Angeles entrepreneur Luca Netz.
Netz went on to turn the struggling NFT brand into a line of physical penguin toys. More than one million units have been sold through Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and other non-blockchain retail channels.
Villemain is now trying again with a new NFT collection. The debate around his return has not gone away.