Pudgy Penguins' Abstract chain to shut down Dec. 15 after heavy losses
Igloo will stop running the consumer-focused Layer 2 and focus on Pudgy Penguins. Users and game teams must move assets before the deadline.
GAMEFINFT
Sofia Marchetti
10/6/20261 min read
Abstract, the consumer-focused Ethereum Layer 2 backed by Pudgy Penguins parent Igloo Inc., will shut down on December 15, 2026. Users must bridge their assets off the network before that date or lose access to them. The team cited a restricted DeFi ecosystem, thin liquidity, minimal institutional crossover, a limited budget and the high cost of running a standalone chain.
Igloo CEO Luca Netz said the company funded Abstract for the past 18 months and lost tens of millions of dollars over two years. Igloo considered launching an Abstract token or an ICO but decided against both, with Netz saying a token only works if something drives demand to it. The company will now focus fully on Pudgy Penguins.
Abstract's mainnet launched in January 2025. It processed more than 325 million transactions and saw four million wallets created, while businesses building on it generated over $40 million, eGamers.io reported. Game projects including YGG Play and Pudgy Party must move their operations, and some developers plan to move to Robinhood Chain. Migration runs through Abstract's Migration Hub and native bridge.
The Pudgy Penguins NFT floor rose from about 3.07 ETH to 3.37 ETH after the news, with 69 sales and 237 ETH in volume, roughly ten times a normal day. PENGU traded at $0.00917, down 4.17% over 24 hours and about 87% below its December 2024 high, according to BeInCrypto.
Source: BeInCrypto, eGamers.io.