A controversial Pudgy Penguins co-founder who was ousted from the project amid treasury misuse allegations just sold nearly 1.3 million dollars worth of new NFTs in under an hour. The launch on Robinhood Chain has reignited a debate about accountability, second chances, and whether the NFT space has learned anything since its 2021 boom.
By Jordan Lee | August 12, 2026
The Hook: A 53-Minute Sellout by a Disputed Founder
Cole Villemain, known online as ColeThereum, launched a new NFT collection called Spritehood on Robinhood Chain on August 11. The paid portion of the sale sold out in approximately 53 minutes, generating roughly 1.28 million dollars in proceeds, according to on-chain analysis by analyst 0xlaplaced.
The mint came just days after Villemain previewed the collection to over half a million views on social media. The attention was split between those celebrating his return to NFTs and an equally vocal group who remembers the controversies that got him removed from Pudgy Penguins in the first place.
On-Chain Evidence: How the Sale Broke Down
The numbers tell a clear story of strong demand despite the controversy:
- 37,430 NFTs sold at 17 dollars each, generating approximately 636,310 dollars
- 5,526 NFTs sold at 117 dollars each, generating approximately 646,542 dollars
- 1,488 NFTs were distributed for free before the public sale through zero-price transactions
- Total supply: 44,444 NFTs across all tiers
- Combined proceeds: approximately 1,282,852 dollars, or about 684 ETH at the time of sale
The final total exceeded an earlier estimate of roughly 755,000 dollars that circulated while the sale was still in progress. It is not clear from available reports what determined whether a buyer paid 17 dollars or 117 dollars, and the collection’s contract code has not been verified on the Robinhood Chain explorer, meaning buyers cannot inspect the full source code governing pricing and distribution.
The Core Conflict: Why This Launch Is Dividing the NFT Community
Villemain was removed from Pudgy Penguins in early 2022 after facing allegations of misusing the project’s treasury. The ousting was widely covered in crypto media at the time. But the controversies go back further. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT previously profiled one of Villemain’s pre-crypto ventures, a dropshipping site called eBoy Outlet, where customer reviews flagged undelivered orders and unresponsive support.
Villemain also founded My Fucking Pickle, an NFT collection that crashed within weeks of launch. The floor price of those NFTs currently sits around 13 dollars, down roughly 98% from a peak above 540 dollars in June 2021. ZachXBT described it at the time as a cash grab.
Despite that history, Villemain’s return has been met with genuine enthusiasm from a segment of the NFT community. He described his own marketing approach as “running back one of the oldest tricks in the book of 2021 NFT projects” and declared himself “delusional enough to believe I can drop the number one NFT on Robinhood Chain.”
The backlash has been equally vocal. One developer on social media wrote: “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.”
Market Implications: Robinhood Chain and the New NFT Frontier
The launch also shines a spotlight on Robinhood Chain, the Ethereum Layer 2 network that the brokerage opened to the public on July 1. Built on Arbitrum technology, the chain was pitched as a home for tokenized stocks, US Treasuries, and real-world assets.
Instead, permissionless deployment has meant that speculative projects and memecoins dominated early activity. Protos previously documented wallet drainers, phishing pages, and rug pulls across Robinhood Chain during its first weeks. Villemain choosing this chain for his comeback is either a sign of its growing reach or a red flag, depending on whom you ask.
For regular investors, the Spritehood launch raises a practical question that applies far beyond this one collection:
- Do your homework on the founder. A track record matters. If a creator has multiple projects that collapsed, that is data, not hate.
- Unverified contracts are a risk. When source code is not verified on the blockchain explorer, you cannot independently review how the smart contract works.
- Fast sellouts do not equal legitimacy. Scarcity and hype can drive quick sales, but they tell you nothing about long-term value.
The Verdict: Has Anything Changed Since 2021?
The NFT market has evolved significantly since its 2021 peak. Major brands like Pudgy Penguins successfully pivoted from digital collectibles to intellectual property empires with retail partnerships. Platforms like Rarible have expanded to new chains. Utility-driven projects have largely replaced pure speculation as the industry standard.
Yet the Spritehood launch shows that the old playbook still works. A controversial founder with a massive following can still generate over a million dollars in under an hour by leaning on nostalgia and hype. Whether that says something encouraging about second chances or something troubling about the market’s memory depends entirely on your perspective.
What is clear is that the NFT space still rewards attention above all else. The projects that survive long-term will be the ones that deliver real value beyond the initial mint hype. For Spritehood, that test has only just begun.
The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry risk; always do your own research.
1.3M in 53 min for a guy who got ousted for treasury misuse. the NFT space deserves whatever it gets at this point lol
the fact that he went to Robinhood Chain of all places tells you everything. no serious ETH native would touch this
37,430 mints at 17 each is not that impressive when you look at the audience size. half a million views and only 37k sold means 93% passed
Cole H. 93% pass rate on 500k views is brutal actually. means 467k people watched and said no thanks. the hype exceeded the wallets
Cole H. 93% pass rate on a half million view audience is actually telling. the hype was loud but the wallets stayed closed for most who saw it
93 percent is even worse when you remember those 500k views came after months of teaser posts. he spent all the goodwill from penguins on a 53 minute cash grab
and half the 37k mints probably relisted within the hour. sellout speed says demand, secondary floor says exit liquidity
the floor chart proves it. mint clears, listings spike, whoever bought the top of the hype window is the designated exit
contract code unverified on the explorer and people still aped 1.3M in 53 minutes. some things never change
44,444 supply with two price tiers and nobody knows what determined who paid 17 vs 117? thats not a feature thats a red flag
the 17 vs 117 split is the detail everyone should zoom on. no verified contract, no public rules, 1.3M cleared anyway. imagine buying a mystery box where the house picks your price
nft_bagholder_ unverified contract and people still aped 1.3M. this is literally 2022 all over again. zero lessons learned
contract unverified and people still aped 1.3M in under an hour. the NFT space learned absolutely nothing from 2021 and 2022
the wildest part is robinhood chain is weeks old. people minted on an unverified contract on an L2 that barely exists. that is pure vibes based investing
ZachXBT literally exposed this guy and the NFT space still gave him 1.28 million dollars. unreal
people change bro. the pengu community ousted him and he still built something new. 53 min sellout speaks for itself
the sellout speaks for itself alright. 1.28M from an unverified contract weeks after the treasury allegations. a quick sellout is just the same grift with better marketing
A 53 min sellout proves the marketing worked. ZachXBT receipts dont expire just because a mint cleared.
the treasury allegations alone should have killed demand. 53 minutes is a measure of collective memory loss, not of demand
1.28M in 53 minutes for an ousted founder on Robinhood Chain. the less serious the chain the bigger the red flag. NFT crowd never changes
treasury misuse allegations, ousted by his own team, and the comeback is a mint on the newest chain available. at least the penguins community told him no first
684 ETH in 53 minutes for an unverified contract on a chain that launched weeks ago. the wildest part is the free tier, 1488 NFTs at zero cost means the team controls a loyalty army for the next mint
1,488 free mints is a standing loyalty army at zero cost. those wallets get first access on the next drop and exit into whatever demand shows up. the farm is the product
1,488 free wallets is also 1,488 floor bids the team can place on day one. loyalty army is a generous word for it
A brokerage spinoff chain hosting an ousted founder’s comeback mint, on an unverified contract, weeks after launch. Every red flag had a sponsor and people paid 1.3 million anyway.
1.28M faster than most ETH native collections ever raised says more about robinhood onboarding than the art. fresh retail wallets with zero scar tissue
1,488 free wallets against 37k paid mints. that ratio tells you the organic support base is way thinner than the sellout headline