Crypto exchange Binance was hit with a cease and desist letter by Mark Longo, owner of the internet sensation Peanut the Squirrel, for alleged copyright infringement. PNUT, the popular memecoin inspired by the squirrel, saw a nearly 10% decrease following the news.
On Sunday, Mark Longo, owner of Peanut the Squirrel, announced that his legal team had initiated legal action against crypto exchange Binance. In an X post, Longo, also known as “Peanuts Dad,” accused the exchange of using his intellectual property without authorization.
The rescued squirrel became an internet sensation after Longo’s online videos became viral, amassing over half a million followers on Instagram. However, Peanut was seized from Longo’s home alongside a rescued raccoon named Fred.
Both animals were euthanized to be tested for rabies, as there are not any approved antemortem rabies testing methods for animals by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Following the news, the public condemned Peanut’s death, with several lawmakers criticizing authorities’ actions.
It also sparked a wave of Peanut-inspired memecoins, which resulted in the creation of Solana-based memecoin PNUT. Amid the controversy, the token quickly grew in popularity, hitting a $120 million market capitalization in less than a week.
Binance announced the listing of the memecoin on November 11, opening spot trading that same day. After the news, PNUT’s price went on a massive rally, climbing to the top 10 memecoins by market cap.
The token achieved the $1 billion milestone in less than a month, reaching a $2.27 billion market cap before retracing. For the past month, PNUT has held above the $1 billion mark, with the price hovering between the $1.80-$1.00 price range.
According to the letter shared by the animal rights activist, Binance allegedly infringed “the intellectual property rights owned by Mr. Longo.” His legal team argues that the exchange’s use of the copyrighted photograph of Peanut the Squirrel wearing a cowboy hat and the “identical” trademark of “PEANUT THE SQUIRREL and PNUT” in the listed memecoin infringes their client’s “various copyrights and trademarks.”
The letter demanded that Binance respond to the letter by December 31st, 2024, to verify the exchange received the letter and “have ceased all infringing activity.” Moreover, Longo revealed in his post that this was the first of multiple cease and desist letters to be issued.
PNUT faced a 10.2% dip after the news, falling from the $1.17 level to the $1.05 support in 24 hours. The retrace drove the token near its lowest levels in over a month, worrying investors about the memecoin’s performance.
It’s worth noting that Longo has previously stated his discontent with the PNUT memecoin, accusing the crypto community of profiting from his late pet. As a protest, the animal rights activist launched a memecoin named Justice for Pnut and Fred (JUSTICE), which faced controversy over insider trading allegations.
Longo also promoted another memecoin, Justice for Peanut (JFP), in his warning post, which saw a 159% increase after the publication before losing all its recent gains. At the time of writing, PNUT is trading at $1.10, a 5.1% drop in the daily timeframe.
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