It appears that Coinbase sent an email to its customers referring to the popular memecoin Pepe Coin (PEPE) as a “hate symbol” used by alt-right organizations. The email has attracted significant backlash from the crypto community. Some have even called for boycotting the U.S.-based crypto exchange.
Popular crypto influencer Borovik.eth shared a screenshot of the May 10 email. The email refers to an Anti-Defamation League decision from 2016, to add the “Pepe the frog” meme character to its database of online hate symbols.
Coinbase’s description of the crypto project infuriated Pepe Coin supporters and users, who demanded that the exchange offer an apology. Some have even urged users to delete their Coinbase accounts.
One Twitter user by the name of “Kenobi,” has come out in support of the popular memecoin, saying that Pepe is not a symbol of hate. Kenobi said that he would be transferring funds to the U.S.-based crypto exchange Gemini as a result. Furthermore, he also used the hashtag “#deletecoinbase” in his tweet.
Will Coinbase not list Pepe Coin?
The result of the email has led to a mass exodus of Pepe Coin users and fans from Coinbase. According to reports, users are flocking to Gemini instead, which has since become the 24th largest Pepe Coin (PEPE) holder since listing the token yesterday.
PEPE fans were campaigning to get the memecoin listed on Coinbase. However, given the email blast, it appears that the U.S.-based exchange might not be listing the crypto project after all. Moreover, the email might have been a way to inform users about why the exchange does not want to list the token. In fact, the email from Coinbase, the movement of Pepe Coins to Gemini, and Gemini’s listing of Pepe Coin all happened on the same day.
Pepe Coin (PEPE) has become one of the most popular crypto projects in recent times. In less than one month of existence, the project has seen gains of over 2680%. Nonetheless, the token has fallen 8.4% in the last 24 hours. The recent Coinbase stunt might have played a hand in the token’s plunge in the last 24 hours. At press time, PEPE was trading at $0.00000181.