Coinbase calls Pepe a ‘hate symbol,’ prompting calls to boycott the exchange

An email sent out to Coinbase customers describing the Pepe meme as a “hate sign” co-opted by alt-right groups has drawn substantial ire from the PEPE memecoin community. Prominent crypto influencer Borovik.eth shared a screenshot of the email newsletter from May 10 to his 96,000 followers, which points out a 2016 choice from the Anti-Defamation League to put the frog-themed character in its database of online hate symbols. Why is @coinbase sending emails telling people that $pepe is an alt-right hate symbol?? pic.twitter.com/UNzClQlwwv— borovik.eth (@ 3orovik) May 11, 2023

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Fans and holders of the frog-themed memecoin were outraged at the description of the token, triggering calls for Coinbase to release an apology, and users to begin erasing their accounts with the crypto exchange. Pseudonymous Twitter user and strength developer Kenobi stated that Pepe is not a sign of hate which he would be moving funds to the United States-based crypto exchange Gemini as an outcome, completing his tweet with the hashtag: “#deletecoinbase” I will be closing my individual 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

Coinbase has not yet made numerous indication of whether it plans to note the Pepe token on its exchange. A Coinbase spokesperson stated the exchange had “absolutely nothing additional to add” in an emailed reaction to Cointelegraph.Related: Pepes market cap sinks $1B in 5 days, some whales are still buyingEvidently, Gemini CEO Cameron Winkelvoss was listening and on May 9, the Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange listed the memecoin for trading, with a more open-ended description of the new token. Source: GeminiThe cost of Pepe fell 2.6% in the hours following news of Coinbases description flowing on Twitter.