Pudgy Penguins: How $4.91M in shorts put PENGU’s 17% rally at risk

Pudgy Penguins [$PENGU] has cleared a key hurdle that it had been facing over the past week. Meanwhile, growing investor and trader interest, along with strong participation in the memecoin, suggests that it could continue its upward momentum if the broader market remains stable.

At press time, $PENGU has climbed 17.02% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $0.0102. Meanwhile, its trading volume surged by 210% to $385.32 million, indicating heightened participation from traders and investors.

$PENGU eyes $0.0102

It is clear that $PENGU is facing resistance at the $0.0102 level. However, the recent breakout above the $0.0084 level and the continuous upward momentum since then suggest that the memecoin could soon clear this hurdle as well.

Source: TradingView

Based on the current price action, if $PENGU breaks out of the $0.0102 level and closes a daily candle above $0.0104, it could potentially see a price jump of over 30% and may reach the $0.0137 level. However, a price correction could also occur if it fails to break the $0.0102 level; in that case, a decline of around 12% is possible.

Meanwhile, the technical indicator Average Directional Index (ADX) has reached 30.31 as of writing, indicating that $PENGU has strong directional strength.

$PENGU shows mixed sentiment among market participants

According to Nansen, over the past seven days, $PENGU whales have increased their holdings by 17.71%, indicating strong confidence in the memecoin’s long-term potential.

Source: Nansen

Meanwhile, CoinGlass’s $PENGU spot inflow/outflow metric shows that over the past 24 hours, exchanges have recorded an outflow of $283.41K worth of $PENGU, which suggests potential accumulation.

Source: CoinGlass

However, intraday traders, on the other hand, seem to be betting on $PENGU’s downside.

The Exchange Liquidation Map highlights key levels at $0.00947 and $0.0103. At these points, traders are heavily overleveraged, with $3.65 million in long positions and $4.91 million in shorts. This imbalance suggests bulls are losing steam while bears are beginning to take control of the memecoin.

Source: Coinglass

As of now, $PENGU’s Open Interest (OI) has surged notably by 17.06% to $135.27 million, indicating fresh positions are being added, with a bias toward shorts, which could further accelerate downside momentum if selling pressure persists.

Final Summary

$PENGU’s daily chart suggested that a potential breakout above the $0.0102 level could trigger another 30% upside rally.

So far, whales and long-term holders appear to have a bullish outlook on the memecoin, whereas traders seem to be eyeing a potential downside move.