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By Shaurya Malwa|Edited by Parikshit Mishra
Jul 9, 2025, 6:08 a.m.
- Elon Musk criticized U.S. authorities for euthanizing a viral squirrel named Peanut while failing to charge anyone from Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged client list.
- Following Musk’s comments, the Solana-based meme token PNUT saw a significant spike in both price and trading volume.
- PNUT, unrelated to the squirrel or Musk, is known for trading on cultural trends and speculative interest.
‘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.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
(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.
Read more: Elon Musk Says America Party Will Embrace BTC as ‘Fiat Is Hopeless’
Shaurya is the Co-Leader of the CoinDesk tokens and data team in Asia with a focus on crypto derivatives, DeFi, market microstructure, and protocol analysis.
Shaurya holds over $1,000 in BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, SUSHI, CRV, NEAR, YFI, YFII, SHIB, DOGE, USDT, USDC, BNB, MANA, MLN, LINK, XMR, ALGO, VET, CAKE, AAVE, COMP, ROOK, TRX, SNX, RUNE, FTM, ZIL, KSM, ENJ, CKB, JOE, GHST, PERP, BTRFLY, OHM, BANANA, ROME, BURGER, SPIRIT, and ORCA.
He provides over $1,000 to liquidity pools on Compound, Curve, SushiSwap, PancakeSwap, BurgerSwap, Orca, AnySwap, SpiritSwap, Rook Protocol, Yearn Finance, Synthetix, Harvest, Redacted Cartel, OlympusDAO, Rome, Trader Joe, and SUN.
