The alpha:
- Coinbase is facing backlash for labeling Pepe the Frog, the mascot of the $PEPE memecoin, as a hate symbol associated with the alt-right.
- A newsletter sent to Coinbase customers via email sparked outrage within the $PEPE community, leading to calls for Web3 to boycott the exchange and “#DeleteCoinbase” to become trending on Twitter.
- Some users are now migrating their $PEPE holdings to Gemini as the price of the popular memecoin continues to drop.
Dive deeper:
Coinbase caused controversy this week by labeling Pepe the Frog, the mascot of the $PEPE memecoin, as a hate symbol associated with the alt-right. In a newsletter sent to Coinbase subscribers on May 10, the company acknowledged $PEPE’s recent surge in popularity, but pointed out Pepe’s controversial history in a now-deleted section.
The characterization of the frog meme in the email referenced Pepe’s 2016 designation as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) due to its adoption by alt-right groups. Still, members of the $PEPE community feel this as one somewhat tone-deaf misrepresentation of Pepe given the character’s long history within the crypto and NFT space.
While Pepe may have been associated with and co-opted by right-wing hate groups in the past, the creator of the frog, Matt Furie, has attempted to distance the character from all sinister connotations. To do this, Furie even set up the #SavePepe campaign in conjunction with the ADL in an effort to reclaim the symbol. In addition, members of the $PEPE community noted that Coinbase’s characterization of Pepe seems to ignore the fact that Furie has been using its Pepe IP on the blockchain for years as a prominent part of the NFT space.
Now there are calls for a boycott of Coinbase, with the hashtag “#DeleteCoinbase” trending on Twitter.
What’s next
As illustrated by Kenobi’s tweet above, the controversy surrounding Coinbase’s labeling of Pepe the Frog as a hate symbol has led many avid $PEPE traders to distance themselves from the popular exchange in favor of its competitor, Gemini. Although $PEPE was only on Gemini a day before the Coinbase email was sent by some reportsthe stock market has already seen more than two trillion $PEPE inflows.
However, it seems that the ongoing controversy is not just about whether Coinbase is wrong, but rather the responsibilities of exchanges and other prominent platforms in ethically navigating the discourse around cultural symbols. Because during the conversation, inspired by the first email, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, who rather emphasized the importance of public debate to promote collaboration apologized on behalf of his company’s decision.
As this debacle continues to unfold, #DeleteCoinbase is underscored by the fact that, in the wake of Coinbase’s criticism, the price of $PEPE has begun to fall. While the popular token has continued to lead the charge of “memecoin season” as numerous other neighboring currencies emerge, it is down about 15 percent in the past 24 hours alone, according to CoinGecko.