ColeVillemain’s Spritehood Wisps NFT: $1.28M Sellout in an Hour
By Darren Smith, Arts Reporter
August 14, 2026
In a swift and high-profile return to the NFT space, former Pudgy Penguins co-founder Cole Villemain—better known online as ColeThereum—has sold out a new 44,444-piece collection called Spritehood Wisps on the nascent Robinhood Chain, raising approximately $1.28 million in under an hour. The mint, which unfolded in the early hours of August 11, 2026, marks one of the first major NFT launches on the brokerage’s Layer 2 network and has drawn widespread attention across crypto communities for both its speed and the controversial history of its creator.
Villemain co-founded the original Pudgy Penguins collection of 8,888 penguin profile-picture NFTs in 2021 alongside three others. That project sold out quickly at a modest mint price and later generated substantial secondary volume on platforms like OpenSea. However, in January 2022, Pudgy Penguins holders voted the founding team out amid allegations of treasury mismanagement. The claims were never the subject of formal charges, and the intellectual property was later acquired by entrepreneur Luca Netz for roughly 750 ETH, or about $2.5 million at the time. Under new leadership, Pudgy Penguins evolved into a broader consumer brand with physical toys sold at major retailers including Walmart and Target.
Four years later, Villemain has staged a dramatic comeback. According to detailed on-chain analysis shared by market observers, the paid portion of the Spritehood Wisps mint consisted of 42,956 tokens. Buyers acquired 37,430 of them at $17 each for a total of $636,310, while a higher tier of 5,526 tokens sold at $117 apiece—incorporating a $100 upgrade option—adding another $646,542. Combined, these transactions generated $1,282,852, equivalent to roughly 684 ETH based on prices at the time of the sale. An additional 1,488 NFTs were distributed free of charge through zero-price transactions before the public mint opened, bringing the full reported supply to 44,444.
The entire paid sale concluded in approximately 53 minutes, according to transaction data compiled by on-chain analyst 0xlaplaced and reported across multiple outlets. Villemain himself announced the sellout on X with a concise message: “Sold out. I’m back in the NFT game.” The collection is listed under the creator name Spritehoodio, and early secondary trading activity on marketplaces has shown some upward movement in floor prices, though concentration of ownership remains high, with a relatively small number of unique holders controlling the majority of the supply.
Robinhood Chain itself only launched publicly on July 1, 2026, initially positioned as a venue for tokenized stocks and U.S. Treasuries. In practice, the network has seen a surge of memecoin and NFT activity in its early weeks. The Spritehood launch stands as one of the first high-volume NFT events on the chain, testing both its infrastructure and the appetite of collectors for projects tied to well-known—if polarizing—figures from the 2021 NFT boom. The contract source code for Spritehood remains unverified on block explorers, a detail that has prompted some caution among more risk-averse participants even as the mint itself sold out rapidly.
The episode has reignited debate about reputation, second chances, and the enduring appeal of founder-driven NFT projects. Supporters point to the clean sellout and subsequent trading interest as evidence that demand for accessible, lower-priced collections persists even after years of market contraction. Critics, recalling the 2022 events surrounding Pudgy Penguins, have questioned the long-term sustainability and transparency of the new project. Independent reporting, including coverage from The Defiant, has focused primarily on the verifiable on-chain numbers rather than speculation, noting that earlier circulating estimates of around $755,000 reflected incomplete data captured mid-mint.
Further context appears in community reports such as the detailed guest post on CoinMarketCap, which highlighted the two-tier pricing structure and the free distribution component. Additional analysis from crypto.news and BitcoinEthereumNews has underscored the collection’s rapid secondary activity and the unique choice of Robinhood Chain over more established networks like Ethereum or Solana. Coverage on BigGo Finance similarly frames the event as a notable early milestone for the young network.
For Villemain, the mint represents a public declaration of return. For the broader NFT market, still navigating lower volumes and shifting collector preferences after the highs of 2021–2022, it serves as a data point: recognizable names and accessible pricing can still drive rapid primary sales, even on emerging infrastructure. Whether Spritehood develops into a sustained community or remains a one-time capital raise will depend on future deliveries, communication, and secondary market health—factors that collectors are watching closely in the days following the sellout.
As the digital art and collectibles sector continues to mature, moments like this illustrate both the resilience of founder-led storytelling and the persistent need for transparency. The $1.28 million raised in under an hour on a three-week-old chain is a striking figure, yet it arrives against a backdrop of heightened scrutiny around contracts, ownership distribution, and long-term utility.
Collectors and observers interested in the ongoing story of Spritehood Wisps and similar launches are encouraged to review the on-chain data directly, follow primary sources, and conduct their own research before participating in any NFT mint or secondary market activity. Stay informed, verify contracts, and engage thoughtfully with the evolving landscape of blockchain-based art and collectibles.
