The Return of the Fallen: Cole Villemain's NFT Revival on Robinhood Chain

Over the past 48 hours, a single tweet from Cole Villemain, the exiled co-founder of Pudgy Penguins, has amassed over 500,000 views. He announced a new NFT series on Robinhood Chain, calling it a return to 'the oldest tricks in the 2021 NFT playbook.' The market is buzzing. But the code does not lie, and neither does the on-chain history. Before we even look at the smart contract—which, as of now, does not exist—we must ask: what is the real signal here? A second chance, or a calculated re-run of a broken script? Context: The Man Behind the Myth Cole Villemain, known online as ColeThereum, was a central figure in the Pudgy Penguins saga. In January 2022, the community voted him out after accusations of misappropriating the project's treasury ETH. He had already launched several other projects: My Fucking Pickle, a hyped NFT that collapsed within weeks, and eBoy Outlet, a dropshipping store later exposed by ZachXBT for failing to deliver orders, refunds, or support. Pudgy Penguins was later sold to Luca Netz for 750 ETH (~$2.5 million at the time), who transformed it into a legitimate consumer brand—selling over 1 million physical toys through Walmart, Target, and Walgreens. The brand's success has nothing to do with Villemain. Now, he resurfaces on Robinhood Chain, a brand-new L1 launched in July 2025, originally positioned for tokenized stocks and treasuries, but already dominated by memecoins, wallet drainers, phishing pages, and rug pulls. Core: The Anatomy of a High-Risk Signal Technically, this project is a ghost. The NFT series is described as 'fantasy video game themed,' but there is no mint, no contract, no website—only a landing page with minimal details. The creator himself warns: 'No contracts or websites are live yet.' This is a critical window for phishing attacks. On Robinhood Chain, where security infrastructure is still immature, the risk of fake contracts is severe. Based on my audit experience, projects that launch without a verified contract or a clear audit trail are not projects—they are concepts. And concepts have a 100% failure rate when the founder has a track record of abandoning their own creations. Economically, the model is non-existent. Villemain has disclosed no tokenomics, no supply schedule, no mint price, no royalty structure. The only historical data we have is My Fucking Pickle: from a floor price of $540 in June 2021 to $13 today—a 98% decline. The eBoy Outlet saga shows a pattern of collecting revenue without delivering value. The Pudgy Penguins treasury misuse shows a willingness to treat user funds as personal liquidity. Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets. The only thing being built here is narrative. Market context: NFT trading volumes are down 97% from their 2021 peak. Blue chips like Bored Ape Yacht Club have lost 99% of their floor. The entire sector is in a deep bear market, and the majority of retail participants are either burned out or cautious. The 500,000 views on Villemain's announcement do not represent buying intent—they represent spectacle. The community is split: half are celebrating his return, half are remembering the broken promises. This is not a healthy demand signal; it is a polarized audience being weaponized for attention. Contrarian: The 'Comeback' Is a Pre-Planned Exit The contrarian narrative being pushed by a subset of Crypto Twitter is that 'Cole has learned his lesson' and that Robinhood Chain needs a flagship NFT project. This is a deliberate misreading of the data. Villemain himself says he is 'replaying the oldest tricks in the 2021 NFT playbook'—a direct admission that this is a marketing stunt, not a redemption arc. His X bio includes a disclaimer: 'All tweets are satire or dramatic performance, not financial advice.' This is a legal shield, not a change of heart. In the silence of the dip, the weak hands break. The weak hands here are not the ones who sold their Pudgy Penguins at a loss—they are the ones who believe that history will not repeat itself. Every failed project Villemain has touched has followed the same pattern: hype, mint, dump, silence. The only difference this time is the chain. Robinhood Chain, eager to attract users, may turn a blind eye to the project's origins. But the chain's reputation is already suffering from the memecoin chaos. A high-profile NFT failure could further damage its credibility with institutional partners. Takeaway: The Only Safe Mint Is the One You Skip The code does not lie, but it can be misunderstood. Right now, there is no code to misunderstand. The project is a promise built on a broken foundation. The smart thing to do is to wait for a verified contract, a third-party audit, and a clear roadmap. But even then, the founder's history suggests that the probability of a rug pull or a slow death is extremely high. In a market that punishes trust, allocating capital to a project with zero deliverables and a track record of failure is not speculation—it is gambling. And in gambling, the house always wins. My advice: keep your ETH, ignore the hype, and focus on projects that have proven their resilience through multiple market cycles. The Penguins are fine—they are now toys in the hands of children. The real Cole Villemain is still the same person who was voted out. The code is not yet written. And until it is, the only rational position is to sit on your hands.