Pepe’s Meme War

In this buzz: a bit more on #DeleteCoinbase and the Coinbase Meme War …

What it’s all about:
It appears that Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange, is facing heat once again as supporters of memecoin Pepe are urging users to delete their accounts. It all started when Coinbase released a newsletter referring to the Pepe the Frog meme as a “hate symbol” co-opted by far-right groups, which triggered over 70,000 tweets with the hashtag #DeleteCoinbase.

Coinbase cited the Anti-Defamation League’s stance on Pepe the Frog, but many Twitter users were quick to point out that Coinbase wasn’t representing the entire ADL’s views on the meme. Some users have even gone a step further, claiming they’ll close their accounts and move their assets onto other platforms, with one tweeter even selling all their Coinbase shares.

It’s not the first time:
This isn’t the first time Coinbase has come under fire, as they faced backlash in 2019 for acquiring analytics startup Neutrino, whose executives were involved with a controversial surveillance unit Hacking Team. And in 2020, CEO Brian Armstrong urged staff to adopt a policy of political neutrality to avoid discussing social justice issues in the office.

Coinbase responded
… to the latest controversy by highlighting the disclaimer at the bottom of their newsletter that the views expressed by the author are not necessarily shared by the company or its employees. But with the #DeleteCoinbase movement gaining momentum, it remains to be seen if Coinbase will be able to ride out this latest storm.