Paul Grewal – the chief legal executive of Coinbase, arguably the biggest and most popular crypto exchange in the U.S. – has made a public apology to the creators of a new meme token called $pepe for claiming the image associated with the token has largely been tied to alt-right hate groups.
Coinbase Issues Public Apology
$pepe features the image that has come to be known as Pepe the Frog, an odd and somewhat misshapen picture of an amphibious creature with big lips, big eyes, and a strange little smile on his face. No doubt you’ve seen this image at some point in your life, though over the past few years, the image has largely been associated with QAnon and other conservative organizations, which has led some to believe it’s somehow utilized by hate groups and similar platforms.
Coinbase is certainly one of the companies to believe that as just a few weeks ago, the top trading platform issued a newsletter claiming so. However, the firm is now taking a lot of flak for its lack of eloquence and for allegedly not including any reference to a story in which the image’s initial creator, a man named Matt Furie (who created the picture back in 2010), is working hard to take the image back and ensure it isn’t used by any other organizations that can be labeled political in any way.
Grewal has since issued an apology, saying the newsletter was premature and didn’t try hard enough to include all the appropriate information regarding both the image and the token it’s now associated with. Coinbase said in the statement:
[The newsletter] did not provide the whole picture of the history of the meme, and we apologize to the community.
While the currency has certainly found a strong audience – the $pepe meme token has seen its market cap explode in recent weeks – many platforms are refusing to list it, Coinbase included. Also, not long ago, Gemini – a competing exchange in New York founded by the Winklevoss Twins of “The Social Network” fame – issued a statement accompanying the $pepe asset warning traders of the alleged risks that potentially come with using or investing in it.
Be Aware!
The warning read:
$pepe is a new meme token. $pepe has no defined utility. Its value may be derived only from the continued willingness of market participants to demand and trade the token, which may result in the potential for permanent and total loss of value should participants choose to no longer demand or trade $pepe. The token may also be subject to extreme price volatility if large, concentrated holdings of $pepe are liquidated in a short period of time.
In other news, Coinbase has hired former senator Pat Toomey as an advisor.
