An email sent to Coinbase customers describing the Pepe meme as a “hate symbol” co-opted by far-right groups has sparked significant anger from the PEPE memecoin community.
Noted crypto-influencer Borovik.eth shared a screenshot of the email May 10 newsletter to his 96,000 followers, citing a 2016 decision by the Anti-Defamation League to place the frog-themed character on his database of hate symbols online.
Because it is @coinbase sending emails telling people that $pepe Is it a hate symbol of the extreme right?? pic.twitter.com/UNzClQlwwv
— borovik.eth (@3orovik) May 11, 2023
Fans and holders of the frog-themed memecoin were outraged by the token's description, prompting calls for Coinbase to issue an apology and users to begin deleting their accounts with the crypto exchange.
Pseudonymous Twitter user and solidity developer @kenobi stated that Pepe is not a symbol of hate and would be transferring funds to US-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini as a result, completing his tweet with the hashtag: “#deletecoinbase”
I will be closing my personal and business accounts with @Coinbase and move them to @Gemini.#PEPE NOT A SYMBOL OF HATE@brian_armstronghe $PEPE community DEMANDS that you retract your vulgar statement about #PEPECOIN!!#DELETECOINBASESHORT $ CURRENCY
—Kenobi (@OG_Kenobi_Hello) May 11, 2023
The hashtag “#deletecoinbase” has hit the Twitter trend bar, with more than 14,000 tweets in the last 2 hours and counting, according to data by Tweetbinder.
From Binance listed the token For trading on May 5, crypto twitter members who hold Pepe have been calling on the leaders of various cryptocurrency exchanges to list the token as well.
Coinbase has yet to give much indication as to whether it intends to list the Pepe token in its exchange.
A Coinbase spokesperson said there was "nothing further to add" in an emailed response to Cointelegraph.
Related: Pepe's Market Cap Plunges $1B In 5 Days, Some Whales Are Still Buying
Evidently, Gemini CEO Cameron Winkelvoss was listening and on May 9, the Winklevoss-owned cryptocurrency exchange listed the memecoin for trading, more open-ended. description of the new tab.
Pepe's price fell 2.6% in the hours after news of the Coinbase description circulating on Twitter. At the time of publication, Pepe is trading at a price of $0.00000184, down 10.4% in the last 24 hours according to data by Coin Gecko.
Update (May 11, 4:44am UTC): Corrected the article to clarify that the Pepe meme was described as a symbol of hate, not the meme currency.
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