Users criticized Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange for calling the Pepe frog meme a symbol of hatred and the meme token craze insane.
Coinbase executives published an article expressing bewilderment over the memcoin craze. In recent weeks, investors have “pounced” on meme-based cryptocurrencies and non-fiatable tokens (NFTs), bringing this market to a peak not seen since 2021. The number of tokens with low market capitalization is growing, and transaction fees on large blockchains are also increasing. Coinbase mentioned a token named after the meme Pepe the frog, stating that trading such crypto-assets is extremely risky and many of them could be fraudulent projects.
The PEPE token was issued in honor of Pepe the frog, which first appeared on the Internet about 20 years ago. Over time, it has been used by the alternative right as a symbol of hate. Last weekend, the PEPE meme token was capitalized at over $1 billion, but its value soon collapsed by more than 50%. Nevertheless, PEPE is one of the few meme tokens, along with DOGE and SHIB, that is among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
The cryptocurrency community, especially PEPE supporters, criticized Coinbase for making bad remarks about the much-loved frog. Many have even asked Coinbase and its CEO Brian Armstrong to apologize and remove the negative comments about PEPE. In this regard, the hashtag “#DELETECOINBASE” became popular on Twitter – in this way the community is trying to warn the exchange about the removal of their accounts. Many users noted that unlike Coinbase, Gemini Exchange announced support for PEPE and added the token to its listing.
Gokhshtein Media founder David Gokhshtein suggested that Coinbase may be losing customers to PEPE,
and popular digital artist Beeple posted a photo of Pepe’s army taking over Coinbase.
It is likely that Coinbase will not add trading pairs with PEPE, despite requests from users. In addition, the exchange has had misunderstandings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The regulator warned Coinbase in March that it could sue it for selling unregistered securities.
