Coinbase Faces Backlash After Labeling Pepe Memecoin a “Hate Symbol”
Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, is facing backlash from the memecoin community after an email sent out to its customers described Pepe (PEPE) as a “hate symbol” co-opted by alt-right groups. The email newsletter was sent out on May 10, citing a 2016 decision from the Anti-Defamation League to place the frog-themed character in its database of online hate symbols.
The reaction from fans and holders of the Pepe memecoin was swift, with many taking to social media to express their outrage at the characterization of their beloved token. Crypto influencer Borovik.eth shared a screenshot of the email on Twitter, which quickly went viral, attracting the attention of thousands of users.
Why is @coinbase sending out emails telling people that $pepe is an alt-right hate symbol?? pic.twitter.com/UNzClQlwwv
— borovik.eth (@3orovik) May 11, 2023
The hashtag “deletecoinbase” started trending on Twitter, with more than 14,000 tweets in the last 2 hours, as users threatened to delete their Coinbase accounts and move their funds to other exchanges that supported Pepe. Pseudonymous Twitter user and solidity developer @Kenobi even went so far as to declare that Pepe is not a symbol of hate and that he would be moving funds to the US-based crypto exchange Gemini instead.
I will be closing my personal and business accounts with @Coinbase and moving them to @Gemini.#PEPE IS NOT A SYMBOL OF HATE@brian_armstrong, the $PEPE community DEMANDS that you retract your vulgar statement about #PEPECOIN!!#DELETECOINBASE, SHORT $COIN 👎
— Kenobi (@OG_Kenobi_Hello) May 11, 2023
Pepe-holding members of the crypto community have been pushing for exchanges to list the token since it was added to Binance on May 5. However, Coinbase has not yet made any indication of whether it intends to list the Pepe token on its exchange.
On May 9, Gemini announced that they will now be supporting Pepe memecoin. The token is available for trading on the Gemini Mobile App and website, for pairs such as USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD, HKD, and SGD. In addition, the USD trading pair is also available on their API/FIX and ActiveTrader applications.
The controversy highlights the power of the memecoin community and their loyalty to their chosen tokens. It also raises questions about the responsibility of exchanges to ensure that they are not inadvertently supporting hate symbols or other offensive content.
Coinbase has yet to respond to the backlash, but it remains to be seen whether the exchange will take any action to address the concerns of the Pepe community.
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