Last Updated: November 3, 2026
Quick Answer: The top NFT social tokens of 2025 by social activity were Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), Internet Computer (ICP), Render (RENDER), FLOKI, FET, Verasity (VRA), Tezos (XTZ), ApeCoin (APE), Magic Eden (ME) and Decentraland (MANA), according to LunarCrush data published by Phoenix Group on January 25, 2025. PENGU led with 7,500 engaged posts and 2.3 million interactions. As of November 3, 2026, PENGU is still the largest NFT community token in CoinMarketCap’s NFT category, with a market cap of about $433 million, ahead of Decentraland (MANA), The Sandbox (SAND) and ApeCoin (APE).
This report was first published on January 26, 2025, and is kept as written apart from corrections: an earlier version gave APE the figures of XTZ and gave ME the figures of APE, and the numbers below now match the Phoenix Group chart. The “Update (November 2026)” section covers what has changed since.
- PENGU topped the LunarCrush-based NFT social activity ranking that Phoenix Group published on January 25, 2025, and was still first in Phoenix Group’s NFT list of March 25, 2026.
- On November 3, 2026, PENGU’s market cap of about $433 million was about four times ApeCoin’s $109 million, according to CoinMarketCap.
- Real-world perks such as Pudgy Toys royalties and ApeFest are tied mainly to owning the NFTs rather than the PENGU or APE tokens.
The NFT market continues to evolve, with numerous projects emerging to capture the interest of collectors, investors, and creators. Social activity has become a key indicator of the most prominent NFT projects, and data from January 25, 2025 gives a clear picture of which tokens were driving the most engagement in the space.
According to data from Phoenix Group and LunarCrush published on January 25, 2025, the NFT market was seeing high levels of interaction from several projects, with notable names emerging at the top of the list. The top 10 were $PENGU, $ICP, $RENDER, $FLOKI, $FET, $VRA, $XTZ, $APE, $ME and $MANA, ranked by engaged posts. The chart labels all ten as NFT projects, although not all of them are: ICP and XTZ are the tokens of the Internet Computer and Tezos blockchains, and FET is the token of the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance.
A later ranking from April 2025 showed a similar mix, with ICP, RENDER and FET among the best-performing NFT projects by social activity.
$PENGU Leads as $ICP and $RENDER Rise in NFT Engagement
At the forefront of social activity was $PENGU, the token of the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection, launched on Solana in December 2024. With 7.5K engaged posts and 2.3 million interactions, $PENGU was the most actively discussed and shared token in the ranking, with about 1.8 times the interactions of the next tokens, $RENDER and $ME. Its ability to generate conversations positioned it as a leader in the space, signaling strong community support and enthusiasm.
Following closely behind was $ICP, with 7.2K engaged posts and 1.1 million interactions. $RENDER also drew significant attention, with 6.9K posts and 1.3 million interactions, tied with $ME for the second-highest interaction count in the top 10.
Other tokens in the list included $FLOKI and $FET, which also performed well in terms of social media activity. $FLOKI recorded 6.4K posts and 861.7K interactions, while $FET made its mark with 6.3K posts and 978.3K interactions. Both continued to see strong participation from their communities.
$VRA, $XTZ, $APE, $ME, $MANA: Leading NFT Social Activity
Verasity ($VRA), Tezos ($XTZ) and ApeCoin ($APE) also gained traction. $VRA drew 5.8K engaged posts and 1.1 million interactions, $XTZ recorded 5.4K posts and 407.8K interactions, and $APE, the token of the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem, had 4.8K posts and 360.6K interactions. The mix shows how broadly the category is drawn, from blockchain tokens such as XTZ to tokens built around a single NFT community, such as APE.
Closing out the list were $ME and $MANA. $ME, the token of the Magic Eden NFT marketplace, had 4.8K engaged posts but 1.3 million interactions, more than any other token except $PENGU and level with $RENDER. $MANA, the token of the Decentraland virtual world, rounded out the list with 3.6K posts and 360.1K interactions. Although they ranked ninth and tenth by engaged posts, both tokens generated a solid amount of community engagement.
The data compiled by Phoenix Group and LunarCrush highlights the role of social engagement in the NFT market. Active communities keep a project visible, and the ability to foster interaction and discussion remains a key factor for NFT projects. Social activity measures attention rather than value, however, and it does not predict prices.
The list looked similar in late 2024, when ApeCoin led NFT projects by social activity.
Update (November 2026): Top NFT Social Tokens Now
About 21 months after this report, PENGU was still at the top of the social rankings in 2026. Phoenix Group’s latest NFT social activity list that we could verify, posted on March 25, 2026, put PENGU first again, followed by FLOKI, RARE, MASK, APE, ME, PIXEL, RARI, FLOW and GALA, as covered in our March 2026 report on NFT social activity. Prices moved the other way. All six tokens from the January 2025 list that rank in the top 30 of CoinMarketCap’s Collectibles & NFTs category are lower than a year ago, by about 29% (RENDER) to about 72% (APE).
The wider crypto market is also under pressure. Bitcoin traded near $76,900 on CoinMarketCap at 10:40 UTC on November 3, 2026, down 1.3% in 24 hours, and the Crypto Fear and Greed Index read 26 (Fear), down from 37 a day earlier. Blockchainreporter’s comparison below sets the January 2025 list against CoinMarketCap data from November 3, 2026, and our guide to whether NFTs are dead in 2026 covers the broader NFT market.
What changed since 2025?
- Pudgy Penguins: Pudgy Party, a mobile game launched in August 2025, shut down in June 2026. Abstract, the Ethereum Layer 2 built by Pudgy Penguins’ parent company Igloo, will shut down on December 15, 2026, and Abstract’s migration hub says users who do not move their assets by then will lose access to their funds.
- ApeCoin: In June 2025, Yuga Labs proposed AIP-596, a plan to sunset the ApeCoin DAO and hand its role to a new entity, ApeCo, according to reports at the time.
- Magic Eden: Magic Eden ended Bitcoin Ordinals, Runes and EVM NFT trading on March 9, 2026 to focus on Solana. Since May 2026, it says it directs 30% of protocol revenue to ME buybacks and USDC distributions to stakers.
- Blur: Blur said on October 12, 2026 that its blur.io website will close on November 12, 2026, while its on-chain marketplace protocol keeps running.
- Verasity: VRA’s market cap has fallen to about $745,000, rank 2,078 on CoinMarketCap, the smallest of the ten by far.
What is an NFT social token?
An NFT, or non-fungible token, is a unique blockchain token that records who owns a specific item, such as a piece of digital art, a game asset or a parcel of virtual land. An NFT social token is a fungible cryptocurrency tied to an NFT community, brand or marketplace rather than to a single NFT. Every unit is identical, so the token trades on exchanges like any other coin, while the NFTs it is linked to stay unique. Projects use these tokens for governance votes, rewards, payments inside their apps, or simply as a community and brand token. Social activity rankings such as LunarCrush’s measure how much people discuss a token, not what the token does.
What were the top NFT social tokens in 2025, and where are they now?
| Rank (Jan 25, 2025) | Token | Engaged posts | Interactions | Market cap (Nov 3, 2026) | 24h volume (Nov 3, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) | 7.5K | 2.3M | $433.5M | $77.7M |
| 2 | Internet Computer (ICP) | 7.2K | 1.1M | $1.38B | $31.0M |
| 3 | Render (RENDER) | 6.9K | 1.3M | $775.8M | $17.3M |
| 4 | FLOKI | 6.4K | 861.7K | $213.0M | $20.5M |
| 5 | Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) | 6.3K | 978.3K | $375.3M | $144.8M |
| 6 | Verasity (VRA) | 5.8K | 1.1M | $0.74M | $0.18M |
| 7 | Tezos (XTZ) | 5.4K | 407.8K | $271.2M | $2.9M |
| 8 | ApeCoin (APE) | 4.8K | 360.6K | $108.9M | $11.4M |
| 9 | Magic Eden (ME) | 4.8K | 1.3M | $32.4M | $2.4M |
| 10 | Decentraland (MANA) | 3.6K | 360.1K | $143.0M | $9.0M |
Social data: LunarCrush via Phoenix Group, January 25, 2025. Market data: CoinMarketCap, November 3, 2026, 11:02 to 11:05 UTC; ME from CoinGecko at about 11:06 UTC, because CoinMarketCap’s ME data did not load.
ICP is now the largest of the ten by market cap, at about $1.38 billion, but it is a general-purpose blockchain token. Among the tokens in the list that are tied directly to NFT communities, PENGU is the largest. Verasity’s fall to well under $1 million in market cap is a reminder that a high social ranking does not protect a token’s price.
What are the top NFT social tokens in 2026?
Blockchainreporter’s November 2026 list of NFT social tokens, compiled from CoinMarketCap data, covers six leading tokens tied directly to an NFT collection, an NFT marketplace or an NFT-based virtual world, ranked by market cap.
| Token | NFT link | What the token is used for | Market cap | 24h volume | Community data (source, date) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) | Pudgy Penguins NFT collection and brand | Community and brand token, with no built-in staking or fee sharing | $433.5M | $77.7M | First in Phoenix Group’s NFT social activity list, March 25, 2026 |
| Decentraland (MANA) | Decentraland virtual world, whose LAND parcels are NFTs | Currency for purchases in Decentraland | $143.0M | $9.0M | 280,112 holder addresses (CoinMarketCap, November 3, 2026) |
| The Sandbox (SAND) | The Sandbox virtual world | Payments, governance and staking on the platform | $129.8M | $15.1M | 8 million users and 400,000 creators (The Sandbox, December 2025) |
| ApeCoin (APE) | Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem | Gas token of ApeChain and currency across the Bored Ape ecosystem | $108.9M | $11.4M | 189,970 holder addresses (CoinMarketCap, November 3, 2026) |
| Magic Eden (ME) | Magic Eden NFT marketplace | Governance and staking, with protocol revenue funding buybacks and USDC rewards | $32.4M | $2.4M | Sixth in Phoenix Group’s NFT social activity list, March 25, 2026 |
| Blur (BLUR) | Blur NFT marketplace | Governance, including control of the marketplace fee switch | $21.3M | $70.7M | 51,335 holder addresses (CoinMarketCap, November 3, 2026) |
Market data: CoinMarketCap, November 3, 2026, 11:02 to 11:05 UTC (ME: CoinGecko). Holder addresses are wallets counted by CoinMarketCap; one person can own several, and exchange wallets hold tokens for many users.
Pudgy Penguins (PENGU): PENGU launched on Solana on December 17, 2024, and holders of Pudgy Penguins NFTs received 25.9% of its maximum supply of 88.9 billion tokens. The token has no built-in staking or fee-sharing mechanism, and revenue from Pudgy Penguins toys and licensing goes to the company rather than to token holders. PENGU’s 24-hour trading volume of about $77.7 million was the highest of the six on November 3. Our PENGU price prediction tracks the published forecasts.
ApeCoin (APE): APE is the gas token of ApeChain, which launched publicly at ApeFest 2024 in Lisbon, according to the Bored Ape Yacht Club website, and it is used as a currency across the Bored Ape ecosystem. All 1 billion APE now count as circulating on CoinMarketCap. Our ApeCoin price prediction covers the forecasts and the governance change.
Magic Eden (ME): ME is the token of a marketplace that has been Solana-only since March 2026. Magic Eden says it directs 30% of protocol revenue to ME buybacks and USDC distributions to stakers, up from 15%. ME’s market cap of about $32 million on CoinGecko is the second smallest in the table. Our Magic Eden review covers the pivot.
Blur (BLUR): Blur’s website closes on November 12, 2026, but its smart contracts keep running on Ethereum, BLUR holders keep control of the fee switch, and Blend, Blur’s NFT lending product, stops matching new loans the same day. BLUR’s 24-hour volume of about $70.7 million was more than three times its market cap on November 3. Our Blur NFT marketplace review has the details.
Decentraland (MANA) and The Sandbox (SAND): Both are currencies of virtual worlds whose land parcels are NFTs. Decentraland’s map has a fixed 90,601 LAND parcels, according to CoinMarketCap, and The Sandbox said in December 2025 that it had passed 8 million users and 400,000 creators.
What are the biggest NFT coins by market cap?
CoinMarketCap’s Collectibles & NFTs category, which lists 820 tokens, was led on November 3, 2026 by Render (RENDER, about $776 million), Stacks (STX, about $618 million), PancakeSwap (CAKE, about $604 million) and Pudgy Penguins (PENGU, about $433 million). The category is broad and includes networks and exchanges that support NFTs, so PENGU is the largest token in it that is tied directly to an NFT community. Gaming and platform tokens in the category include Immutable (IMX, about $239 million), AINFT (NFT, about $231 million) and Axie Infinity (AXS, about $145 million). These rankings describe market size, not a recommendation to buy.
Which NFT marketplaces are still active in 2026?
OpenSea, Magic Eden and Tensor were all operating in late October 2026, while Blur is closing its website. OpenSea has charged a 1% fee on NFT sales across its 22 chains, including Solana, since September 15, 2025, and opened its mobile app to all users on October 20, 2026. Magic Eden has supported only Solana NFTs since March 9, 2026 and charges 2%, while Tensor, its main Solana rival, charges a 2% taker fee and nothing to makers, so sellers who list pay no marketplace fee. To buy or sell an NFT, connect a self-custody wallet for the right blockchain to the marketplace’s official website, then buy a listed item or list your own.
Which NFT Social Tokens Have Real-World (IRL) Benefits?
Few NFT social tokens carry real-world benefits on their own. In the NFT world, IRL perks mostly come with owning the NFTs, while the linked tokens give digital rights such as votes, rewards or in-app payments. The two best-known examples are Pudgy Penguins and the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Pudgy Penguins (PENGU): toys sold in retail stores
Pudgy Toys launched on Amazon on May 18, 2023, and were on sale in 2,000 Walmart stores about four months later. The company says its products are now available in more than 10,000 retail locations, and NFT holders whose penguins appear on the toys earn royalties from sales. In January 2026, Pudgy Penguins added a licensing deal with Manchester City for a limited-edition collectible set. Holding PENGU tokens does not earn toy royalties: that revenue goes to the company and to the NFT holders whose characters are used.
Bored Ape Yacht Club (APE): ApeFest
ApeFest is the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s annual in-person gathering for its holders. According to the club’s website, the fifth ApeFest took place in Las Vegas in October 2025, after Lisbon in October 2024, the first European edition, Hong Kong in 2023 and two editions in New York in 2021 and 2022. The website ties membership to owning a Bored Ape NFT, with a members-only area unlocked by connecting a wallet, so check the official site for each event’s entry rules.
What about the other NFT social tokens?
ME and BLUR are marketplace tokens whose benefits are financial and digital, such as staking rewards and governance votes, while MANA and SAND pay for items in virtual worlds. We found no current, verified real-world perks attached to holding these four tokens. Before acting on any claimed perk, airdrop or event ticket, check the project’s official website and channels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What were the top NFT social tokens in 2025?
The top 10 NFT tokens by social activity in early 2025 were PENGU, ICP, RENDER, FLOKI, FET, VRA, XTZ, APE, ME and MANA, according to LunarCrush data published by Phoenix Group on January 25, 2025. Pudgy Penguins’ PENGU led with 7,500 engaged posts and 2.3 million interactions. Magic Eden’s ME and Render each drew 1.3 million interactions, the next highest totals.
What are the top NFT social tokens in 2026?
By market cap on November 3, 2026, the largest tokens tied directly to NFT communities were Pudgy Penguins (PENGU, about $433 million), Decentraland (MANA, about $143 million), The Sandbox (SAND, about $130 million) and ApeCoin (APE, about $109 million), according to CoinMarketCap. PENGU also topped Phoenix Group’s NFT social activity list on March 25, 2026.
What is an NFT social token?
An NFT social token is a fungible cryptocurrency linked to an NFT community, brand or marketplace rather than to one NFT. Every unit is identical and tradable on exchanges, while the linked NFTs stay unique. Examples include PENGU for Pudgy Penguins, APE for the Bored Ape ecosystem, ME and BLUR for NFT marketplaces, and MANA and SAND for virtual worlds.
Which NFT social tokens have real-world (IRL) benefits?
Real-world benefits mostly come with owning NFTs, not tokens. Pudgy Penguins NFT holders earn royalties when their penguins appear on Pudgy Toys, which the company says are sold in more than 10,000 retail locations. Bored Ape Yacht Club holders gather at ApeFest, held in Las Vegas in October 2025. Holding PENGU tokens alone does not earn toy royalties.
Do PENGU holders get any rights or rewards?
PENGU has no built-in rewards. It is a community and brand token with no staking or fee-sharing mechanism, and revenue from Pudgy Penguins toys and licensing goes to the company rather than to token holders. Its value depends on the reach of the brand and on demand from traders and fans. On November 3, 2026, its market cap was about $433 million.
What is ApeFest and who can attend?
ApeFest is the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s annual in-person festival for its holders. The club’s website lists editions in New York in 2021 and 2022, Hong Kong in 2023, Lisbon in October 2024 and Las Vegas in October 2025. Membership is tied to owning a Bored Ape NFT, so check the official site for each event’s ticket and entry rules before buying anything.
Is Blur shutting down?
Partly. Blur said on October 12, 2026 that its blur.io website will close on November 12, 2026, after its monthly trading volume fell more than 99% from its 2023 peak. The on-chain marketplace protocol keeps running, BLUR holders keep control of the fee switch, and Blend, its NFT lending product, stops matching new loans on the same date.
How is NFT social activity measured?
Social analytics firm LunarCrush tracks posts about each token and the interactions those posts receive, and Phoenix Group publishes rankings based on that data. The January 2025 list ranked tokens by engaged posts, from 7,500 for PENGU to 3,600 for MANA. Social activity shows where attention is, but it does not predict prices, and most of these tokens fell over the past year.
Data sources: Phoenix Group posts on X of January 25, 2025 (LunarCrush data) and March 25, 2026, CoinMarketCap (prices, market caps, volumes and holder counts, November 3, 2026, 10:40 to 11:05 UTC), CoinGecko (Magic Eden), alternative.me Crypto Fear and Greed Index, the Bored Ape Yacht Club website, Abstract’s migration hub, The Sandbox’s 2025 retrospective, and the Magic Eden, Blur, Pudgy Penguins and ApeCoin announcements cited in our linked reviews and reports. Checked November 3, 2026.
About the author
Kester is an experienced freelance content writer. His focus is primarily on blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. One might even refer to him as a "blockchain enthusiast." He has been following advancements in the crypto and blockchain area for several years, researching and writing his insights in the media. In addition to being a skilled content writer, Kester is also knowledgeable in SEO and digital marketing. He aspires to succeed as a content creator in the digital realm, dealing with customers in the finance and tech industries to generate traffic through engaging taglines and content. Kester enjoys traveling, reading, and playing cricket when he is not writing. He now works as a news and article writer for BlockchainReporter.
